Close To Home
by JessCM09
Summary: There's a killer in Virginia. A killer who is targeting young girls with brown hair and brown eyes. Will Emily be able to keep her focus when the victims remind her so much of her daughter or will the Unsub prevail? #7 in my little series!
1. Chapter 1

**Well I'm back! I have honestly been crazy busy and my free time has mostly been spent sleeping, but I hope everyone will stick with me anyways! I've had the idea for this story for a while but after the last one I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to do this one now or not, BUT this story is kind of necessary for my next couple stories to go the way I have them planned in my head (yes I have several more stories thought out). So I hope you like this one!**

**Thanks for reading! -J**

**Chapter 1**

"Mom have you seen my scarf?" Alex called from the top of the stairs on a cold Saturday morning.

"I hung it up with your coat," Emily replied from the kitchen where she was currently making pancakes.

"Oh thanks," Alex said, coming down the stairs and kissing the older brunette on the cheek.

"Well I thought that was a better place for it than the floor," Emily teased, raising an eyebrow as the teen grinned.

"Oh I must have dropped it," Alex laughed, knowing she had definitely thrown all of her things on the floor when she got home from school the previous day, in a rush to get over to Spencer's.

Alex and her friends had finally completed their first term finals and had celebrated at the Hasting household the previous night; a celebration, which involved a lot of chocolate and plenty of dancing around Spencer's bedroom. Having plans to go skating with Logan though, Alex had woken up early in order to return home so she could get ready to go meet the blonde boy.

"We have time to eat before I have to bring you right?" Emily asked as she added another pancake to the top of the stack she had made.

"Definitely," Alex nodded with a smile. "There's no way I'm missing out on pancakes," she said, grabbing plates and utensils and heading for the table.

"Jen, breakfast is ready," Emily called up the stairs. "Are you coming down anytime today?"

"One minute," came JJ's reply, as Emily grabbed the plate of food and made her way over to the table where Alex was waiting.

"What's she doing up there?" Emily asked the teen who had been upstairs last.

"No idea," Alex shrugged. "But it sounded like she was throwing things around when I was up there. And there was a lot of muttering going on."

"Great," Emily said sarcastically as the sound of the blonde's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

"Em I'm not going to Rossi's tonight," JJ said as she came into the dining room wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, slumping down into the chair beside Emily and putting two pancakes onto her plate.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked in confusion. "You have to go, Garcia will lose her mind if you don't. She's been going on about having a proper family dinner for weeks, you know that."

"I have nothing to wear," JJ pouted, pouring syrup on her pancakes before pushing her plate away, deciding she no longer wanted them.

"What are you talking about?"

"Everything I put on makes me look fat," JJ replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"Jen," Emily said, throwing a glare across the table at Alex who had snorted. "Honey you're not fat. You're pregnant."

"Yeah and I look like a whale," JJ said, gesturing towards her now six months pregnant belly. "I'm huge and everything is swollen. I'm not going."

"Baby you look beautiful," Emily assured her, pulling the blonde's hand from her crossed arms. "You're having a baby Jen. You've never looked more gorgeous."

"Yeah JJ you look great," Alex added trying to help her mother out. "Everyone will be really bummed out if you don't come tonight, and we'll all have to listen to Garcia complain. You have to come."

"Come on honey," Emily said, stroking a hand through the blonde's locks.

"You really think I look beautiful?" JJ asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Always," Emily replied, making the blonde smile.

"Alright."

"Thank you," Emily said, leaning forward to kiss the tip of JJ's nose. "Now eat your pancakes. You need to feed that little guy in there," she said, placing a hand on her girlfriend's stomach. "We need to make sure he grows up big and strong like his mommy."

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"What time do you want me to pick you up?" Emily asked as she pulled up in front of the skating rink, seeing Logan waiting out front for Alex.

"We're going to have lunch after so maybe like 2?" Alex suggested, already pulling her seatbelt off and turning to her mother.

"Okay I'll be here," Emily replied, leaning forward to kiss the teen. "Be good and call if you need me to come earlier."

"I will," Alex promised. "Love you," she called before getting out of the car and immediately running towards Logan, who had a big smile on his face.

Emily watched as Alex threw her arms around the young boy, the two sharing a chaste kiss before heading inside, hand-in-hand. As much as Emily had disliked the fact that Alex had a boyfriend at first, she couldn't help but like the young blonde, who was always polite, and who seemed to treat her daughter well. She knew the teen was head over heals in her first crush, and while she didn't know how long it would last, she liked seeing her daughter so happy.

Lost in thought for a few minutes Emily eventually shook herself from her thoughts, putting her car back into drive and pulling back onto the road in the direction of the mall. Emily had told JJ that she needed to make a stop after dropping Alex off, a plan in her head, wanting to make JJ feel special since she seemed to be pretty down lately. Not wanting to leave JJ home alone too long in case she convinced herself she couldn't go to Rossi's again, Emily found the closest parking spot she could when she got to the mall, quickly heading inside and making her way to the jewelry store, looking for the perfect surprise for the blonde who had her heart.

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"So you're having dinner with your mom's team tonight?" Logan asked as he and Alex skated around the rink; her hand held firmly in his.

"Yep," Alex replied with a smile. "According to Garcia we don't have enough proper family meals. So Rossi is cooking up some big Italian feast for us. Garcia's helping too apparently, but I have a feeling Rossi will keep her on chopping vegetables or something."

"I like Garcia," Logan laughed. "She's pretty interesting."

"She's definitely the crazy aunt of my strange little family," Alex agreed. "She always has the craziest ideas, but she just really cares about everyone," she explained. "She doesn't really have any family of her own so I think it's just really important to her that we all get together from time to time."

"I think it's cool," Logan smiled. "I mean it seems to me that your mom and the team all have pretty small families, but they all created this bigger family to make up for that. It's nice."

"It is," Alex nodded. "You know I would have invited you tonight, but Garcia was very clear about it only being family."

"It's alright," Logan laughed. "I mean obviously I would have loved spending the extra time with you," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "But Rossi kind of scares me," he admitted, as Alex began giggling.

"Rossi's harmless," she insisted. "I mean he's protective but the guy wouldn't hurt a fly."

"If you say so," Logan replied shaking his head. "But I have no doubt that the man would personally hunt me down if I ever messed with you."

"I'm pretty sure they all would," Alex laughed. "Guess you better not test that theory."

"I guess not," Logan agreed with a smile, feeling Alex squeeze his hand just a little tighter. "I'm really glad we're doing this. This week has been so busy, it's nice to finally get to spend some time together."

"I agree," Alex nodded. "This was a good idea. I haven't been skating in forever. I think the last time was like 2 years ago with my dad."

"Well then I'm glad I thought of this," Logan smiled, slowing them down as he led Alex towards the side of the rink out of everyone else's way.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked as she allowed the blonde boy to lead her, grabbing onto the boards on the side to keep her balance once they had completely stopped.

"I just want to stop for a minute," Logan said, reaching up to tuck a piece of Alex's dark hair behind her ear. "So that I can do this," he said, leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers, feeling the brunette smile into the kiss.

"Good call," Alex laughed when Logan finally pulled away, loving the happiness she could see in the blue eyes in front of her. "Come on," she said giving the blonde a quick peck before pulling at his hand. "I want to keep enjoying this."

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Just like she said she would Emily picked Alex up at exactly 2pm, watching as the teen took her time saying her goodbyes to her boyfriend, giving him only a quick peck, before heading for the car, knowing her mother was watching. JJ had stayed home to take a nap, giving Emily strict instructions to wake her by 3pm so she could get ready for Rossi's.

"Did you have a good time?" Emily asked when Alex got into the car.

"I had a great time," Alex replied, her smile giddy as she buckled her seatbelt. "What have you guys been doing?"

"Just catching up on chores," Emily explained. "Made a quick stop at the mall too after I dropped you off. Picked up a little something for Jen," she said. "It's in my purse."

Grabbing Emily's bag from where it sat at her feet, Alex peered inside, finding a long, black, velvet box. "Oh it's in a nice box, it must be good," the teen teased as she opened up the box revealing a simple, yet elegant diamond bracelet. "Wow."

"Do you think she'll like it?" Emily asked.

"Well if she doesn't I'll take it," Alex replied with a smile. "It's gorgeous. Is today some special day I forgot about or something?"

"No," Emily shook her head. "Jen has just been so hard on herself lately. I just wanted to do something to make her feel special."

"Well aren't you a good girlfriend," Alex laughed.

"I try," Emily smiled as they pulled up in front of their house.

"Are you going to give it to her today?" Alex asked as they got out of the car.

"Yeah," Emily nodded. "Sometime before we leave tonight. She's having a nap right now. I have to wake her up by 3pm."

"Okay, well I'm going to run up and shower," Alex explained. "What time are we leaving here?"

"Probably 5pm."

"Awesome," Alex replied, already heading up the stairs, careful to tread quietly so as not to wake JJ.

Having nothing to putter around the house with since she had already spent the day cleaning up, Emily headed into the living room, grabbing her book off the coffee table and stretching out on the couch. She was only a page in when a black ball of fur leapt onto her chest, effectively blocking her view of her book.

"Hey furball I was trying to read that," she chuckled, scratching behind the kitten's ear. "Were you not getting enough attention buddy?" She asked as Sergio simply purred in response, maneuvering his head so that Emily scratched just the right place. "Sorry little guy, I thought you were napping with Jen. Did she kick you out of the bed? Don't take it personally Serg. She's just not much for cuddling these days since she's got that little personal heater going on," the brunette continued talking to the cat. "Don't worry though. You've still got me and Lex," she said kissing Sergio's head as he rubbed it against her face.

Abandoning her book, Emily continued to talk to the cuddly kitten, Sergio basking in the attention. Seeing that it was almost three though the brunette eventually had to lift the kitten patting his head once more before placing him on the ground. Grabbing the bracelet from her purse, which was still sitting in the foyer, Emily headed up the stairs, figuring now was a good a time as any to give JJ her gift. Hearing Alex blow-drying her hair in her room, Emily headed straight for the master suite, opening the door to find JJ sprawled out on the bed, lying on top of the covers wearing only a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Laughing silently at the sight, Emily made her way to the bed, sitting down a stroking a hand through JJ's blonde locks.

"Jen," Emily called, JJ simply groaning in response. "Jen it's time to get up," she repeated, leaning forward and placing a kiss on the blonde's forehead. "Come on, time to get ready."

"Don't wanna," JJ mumbled, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"Baby it's 3pm," Emily replied. "You wanted to get ready remember? Time to wake up," she tried again, receiving no reply from her tired girlfriend. "If you get up now I'll give you a present."

"Present?" JJ asked, quickly removing her arm and looking at Emily expectantly. "What kind of present?" She asked skeptically.

"This kind," Emily replied, placing the jewelry box on JJ's stomach.

"What's this?" JJ asked, her blue eyes meeting brown ones filled with happiness.

"Just a little something because I love you," Emily replied with a smile. "And because I'm happier than I've ever been. You've made me happier than I've ever been," she said, tucking the blonde's hair behind her ear. "Now open it," she said nodding her head towards the box.

Reaching tentatively for the box, JJ slowly lifted the lid, her eyes immediately widening as she viewed the bracelet inside. "Em," she gasped. "It's beautiful," she said, her eyes immediately filling with tears. "I…this is…I'm…thank you," she stuttered.

"You're welcome," Emily replied happily, loving that she had basically left the normally well-spoken blonde speechless. "I just wanted you to have something to remind you just how much I love you."

"You're amazing," JJ sighed, shaking her head as she leant forward, grabbing Emily by the neck and pulling her into a searing kiss. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," she said when she finally pulled away, leaving Emily gasping for breath. "I love you."

"I love you too," Emily smiled, pulling the blonde in for another, less intense kiss. "We should probably get ready though," she said, breaking the kiss but keeping her forehead leaning against JJ's.

"Yeah…right," JJ agreed. "Where's Alex?"

"In her room getting ready. Why?"

"Well since we both still need to shower I just thought we could save some time," JJ suggested, a smile immediately lighting up the brunette's face.

"I think that sounds like a very good idea," Emily agreed, giving the blonde a quick peck before standing, taking the blonde's hand in order to lead her towards the master bathroom. "A wonderful idea indeed."

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"Wow Emster that's some bracelet," Garcia said later that night as she admired JJ's new jewelry while the team sat around Rossi's dining room table, waiting for the Italian man to join them so they could begin dinner. "You sure you don't have any brothers I can date?"

"Sorry Pen," Emily replied from her seat between JJ and Alex. "Still an only child."

"Drats," Garcia exclaimed. "Guess I will have to settle for living vicariously through Jayje."

"Guess so," Emily laughed, as JJ took her hand in hers.

"Alright people," Rossi called as he came into the dining room, carrying the last bowls of pasta and placing it on the already full table. "I hope you are all ready to eat, because there is enough food here for a week," he said, having spent most of the day cooking with Garcia by his side 'helping'.

"This looks amazing Dave," Haley said from where she sat next to Hotch; Jack on her other side in his high chair.

"Smells incredible too," JJ added.

"Well I think this calls for a toast," Morgan suggested. "Rossi my man, you care to do the honours?"

"Here's to our big, crazy family, who keeps getting bigger and crazier," Rossi began. "And to many more nights just like this one," he said as everyone raised their glasses.

"And here's to our wonderful host and chef," Emily added.

"Here, here," Reid chimed in as everyone began clinking their glasses together.

It didn't take long before everyone was passing around dishes, each filling up their plates with the wonderful smelling meal. For a few minutes everyone was silent, taking a moment to appreciate Rossi's cooking.

"This is awesome," Alex eventually said, effectively breaking the silence.

"Mmmhmm," most of the table agreed; their mouths full.

"Better be careful Rossi," Morgan said. "Now that we know that you can cook like this, we're going to make you do it all the time."

"Hey I helped," Garcia reminded.

"Yes Penelope was an excellent sous-chef," Rossi said. "She chops vegetables like no one I've ever seen before," he added as Alex giggled.

"Thank you," Garcia replied happily, missing the note of sarcasm in the older man's voice.

"So Alex are you still seeing that boyfriend of yours?" Haley asked, between feeding Jack his baby food and eating her own meal.

"Yeah," Alex smiled. "We actually went skating today."

"Oh that's so cute!" Garcia exclaimed. "Did he hold your hand?"

"Yes Penelope, he held my hand," Alex replied with a laugh, shaking her head at the excitement on the blonde's face.

The rest of dinner was spent chatting about various things, everyone enjoying their time together. When everyone had finished up Morgan, Reid and Hotch were volunteered by Garcia and Emily to clean up, while Rossi and the ladies headed into the family room, where Garcia immediately grabbed Jack from Haley. Garcia and Alex sat on the floor to play with Jack, while Haley, JJ, Emily and Rossi sat together on the sofas to continue their chat.

"So are you getting excited JJ?" Haley asked.

"I honestly can't wait," JJ replied, rubbing her stomach. "I mean I'm a little nervous, but I just can't wait to meet him."

"What about you Emily?"

"I'm definitely starting to feel antsy," Emily smiled. "We're planning on starting work on the nursery soon, so that should keep us sufficiently distracted for a while though."

"Did you guys finally settle on a theme?" Rossi asked, having heard the couple discussing the matter several times throughout the workweek.

"We picked the animal theme we showed you guys last week," JJ replied.

"If Jen doesn't change her mind again before we get started," Emily teased.

"I haven't changed my mind that many times," JJ argued, glaring at the brunette.

"You have so," Alex said, getting up from the floor and making her way over to Emily, taking a seat on the older brunette's lap; Emily immediately circling her arms around the teen's waist. "Last week you went from under the sea, to zoo animals, to Winnie the Pooh, to no theme at all, before finally going back to the animals."

"And then there was the safari animals versus circus animals versus zoo animal debate," Garcia added from where she was still sitting on the floor.

"The circus animals eventually winning," Emily laughed.

"Okay, okay maybe I've changed my mind a few times," JJ admitted. "But I just want it to be perfect."

"And it will be," Emily assured her with a wink as Alex leaned back against her.

"You know I think Baby Girl was right," Morgan called as he, Reid and Hotch came in from the kitchen. "We don't do this enough," he said, sitting down on the floor with Garcia and Jack.

"Well our schedules don't really allow for it," Reid pointed out as he sat next to Emily and Alex.

"Yeah but you guys are usually home one or two weekends a month," Alex said. "We should try to make it a monthly thing," she suggested as Emily placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I agree," JJ smiled.

"Fine but if you people think I'm cooking every time you're dreaming," Rossi said.

"I think we can take turns with that one," Hotch replied. "Except Reid is exempted from any cooking duties," he joked.

"Hey! I can cook," the genius defended himself.

"Sure you can buddy," Emily said, patting his leg as everyone began laughing.

The laughter continued as the team continued to poke fun at the young doctor, who was also laughing as Garcia shared a story about the time she had invited Reid over to bake cookies with her; an event, which had ended disastrously. Just as Garcia got to the end of her tale the sound of a cell phone ringing filled the room. JJ's shoulders visibly sagged as she recognized the ringtone of her work phone, Emily pulling Alex closer as she too recognized the sound.

"Really?" Morgan said sounding disappointed.

"Really," JJ said, pulling out her phone and getting up from the couch so she could answer it in the other room.

"Well there goes the rest of the weekend," Garcia huffed, knowing the team was about to get called in as Hotch excused himself to follow the media liaison.

"Well it was fun while it lasted," Emily said, kissing her daughter's head, unaware of just how stressful her week was about to become.


	2. Chapter 2

**So this chapter is a little short, but I just wanted to set up the case, so that I can really get into it. The next chapter will continue right off where this one ends, I just chose to end it where I did so the chapter didn't go on forever!**

**I'm doing my best to update as often as possible, but unfortunately I do work 3 jobs, so sometimes it's hard. So bare with me and be as patient as possible and I promise to keep going as fast as I can!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed/favourited this story already! You guys are the best! -J**

**Chapter 2**

As soon as the detective on the phone told JJ about the case she knew the team would take it, and she knew it was going to be difficult. Explaining the situation to Hotch, he immediately agreed, telling the media liaison to let the detective know that the whole team would be with them first thing the next morning, since they would only have to travel to Alexandria. Making their way back into the room the pair had informed the group that they were needed in Alexandria first thing the next morning, putting an abrupt end to their night. Wanting to avoid discussing the case while Alex was present, everyone went their separate ways, expecting to be briefed the next day.

JJ had tried to act normal on the way home, attempting to keep her attention on the story Alex was telling, while her mind continued to drift to the case they were about to embark on. She took extra time saying her goodnights to Alex when they got home, knowing that Emily was now watching her every move; aware that there was something she wasn't telling her.

"So if the case is local does that mean I can stay home?" Alex asked JJ, as the blonde sat on the edge of her bed.

"Umm I'm not sure," JJ replied, knowing Emily wouldn't want the teen on her own when she heard what the case was. "We'll talk about it. But you should go spend the day with Spencer tomorrow. We'll call you when we can and let you know what's going on."

"Okay," Alex nodded understandingly. "Will you wake me up before you guys leave?"

"Sure," JJ smiled, leaning forwards and placing a kiss on the teen's forehead. "I love you kiddo."

"I love you too," Alex replied with a big smile, as Emily came into the room. "And you," she added as the older brunette grinned and made her way over to the bed.

"And I love you," Emily said, placing several kissing on her daughter's face.

"Okay, okay," Alex laughed as Emily finally pulled away, brushing hair out of the young brunette's face.

"We'll talk to you before we leave in the morning alright?" Emily asked.

"Okay," Alex smiled as both women gave her one more kiss. "Goodnight."

"Night sweetheart," JJ replied, following Emily out of the room, turning off the light before she left, just as Sergio slinked into the room. "Night Serg," the blonde added with a smile before closing the door.

JJ followed Emily quietly down the hall, the pair slipping into their room where they wordlessly began to change for bed, knowing they needed to be up early the next day. It wasn't until both women were dressed in their pajamas and crawling into bed that Emily finally couldn't take the silence any longer.

"You ready to tell me what's going on yet?" Emily asked as JJ made herself comfortable beneath the covers. "Is it about the case? Because you've been acting a little strange since you got that phone call."

"I have not," JJ argued quietly.

"Jen you've been throwing me these worried looks sine you got that call," Emily countered, raising an eyebrow. "What is it? Just tell me."

"It's the case," JJ sighed, knowing it was better to give the older brunette some warning before they arrived at the police station the next day. "It's the victims," she elaborated.

"What about them?" Emily asked, leaning back against her pillows and turning her attention to the blonde.

"In the last three weeks 2 girls have gone missing on their way home from school," JJ began to explain. "They were kept tied up for 3 or 4 days before being stabbed to death," the blonde continued. "Both girls were in their teens; 14 and 16. Both have brown hair and brown eyes," she said, biting her lip as her worried eyes met Emily's.

"Oh," Emily replied understandingly.

"We haven't had a case where Alex fits the victimology since she got here, and honestly I was worried about how it would affect you," JJ explained. "I mean it's already affecting me."

"It's definitely not going to be easy," Emily said, taking the blonde's hand in hers. "Have any other girls gone missing since?"

"No," JJ replied. "But they're worried that the unsub may strike again on Monday," she explained. "They want to try and get ahead of the guy," she said as Emily nodded her understanding.

"Alex needs to stay with the Hastings," Emily said. "I won't be able to focus if I know she's home alone, but I don't want her to know why."

"We'll just tell her we won't be getting home until late and we don't want her on her own," JJ replied. "She doesn't need to know anything else. She'll be fine."

"I know," Emily sighed. "God this week is going to suck," she said, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yes," JJ agreed, turning to place a kiss upon her girlfriend's forehead. "Yes it is."

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Her mind already filled with worry, Emily spent most of the night tossing and turning; listening to the heavy breathing of the blonde beside her. When JJ woke in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, Emily feigned sleep, not wanting JJ to worry about her. The brunette must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing she knew, the alarm was going off, filling the room with a blaring sound that made her want to scream. Since the alarm was on her side of the bed, Emily rolled over to turn it off, hearing JJ shifting beside her as she too tried to shake herself out of her sleepy haze.

"I liked it better when Sundays meant sleeping in," JJ yawned, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Me too," Emily grumbled. "You want first shower?" She asked hoping the blonde would say yes so she could spend a few extra minutes lounging in bed.

"Sure," JJ replied, noticing that Emily looked like she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, something, which really didn't surprise her since she knew her girlfriend, was worrying about the case.

Watching as JJ made her way towards the bathroom, Emily curled up, tucking her face into her comforter as she allowed her eyes to once again drift shut. It wasn't long before JJ could be heard coming back into the room, forcing Emily to leave the warm confines of her bed, as she dragged her feet towards the bathroom. The next hour was spent slowly getting ready before Emily met JJ downstairs, the pair settling for bowls of cereal; Emily enjoying a steaming mug of coffee while JJ drank orange juice, wishing for caffeine. When both women were ready to go they headed up to Alex's bedroom, quietly entering the room to find Alex still fast asleep, Sergio purring in his sleep on the pillow next to her.

"Lex, sweetie," Emily called as she leaned over the sleeping teen, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Honey we've gotta go," she said, giving her a little shake.

"Hmmm?" Alex replied sleepily, her eyes squinting open, confusion written on her face. "Are you leaving? What time is it?"

"It's early," JJ replied from the teen's other side. "But we gotta go."

"Okay," Alex yawned, lifting her arms out from under the cover and reaching out for a hug.

"Call Spencer once you're awake and see if you can go over there okay," Emily said as the younger brunette wrapped her arms around her neck. "It's probably going to be late nights so I would feel better if you stay there okay?"

"Okay," Alex replied as Emily pulled away, giving her a kiss before moving aside so JJ could get a hug too. "But if you guys get home early can I come home? I like sleeping here."

"Sure," Emily nodded, smiling as she watched JJ and Alex say their goodbyes. "We'll call you when we can. But for now stay with the Hastings okay?"

"I will," Alex assured her. "Be safe. I love you."

"We love you too," both women replied.

"Now go back to sleep," Emily said, as she and JJ stood from the bed, preparing to leave. "We'll talk to you later."

"Okay," Alex replied, curling up in a ball under the covers, her eyes already drifting shut.

"You ready to do this Agent Prentiss?" JJ asked as she took Emily's hand in hers, the pair heading down the stairs.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Emily replied, taking a deep breath as she willed her mind to stay focused on the case.

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Since the case was so close to home the team had decided to meet at the Alexandria police department, Hotch explaining that he and JJ would brief the whole team once they had arrived. Since the unsub was kidnapping girls on the way home from school, they knew they had at least a day, if not longer, to find out as much as they could.

It was just after 9am when the team all arrived, making their way inside and introducing themselves to the Detective JJ had spoken to on the phone, before being led into a room they could use, choosing to look everything over on their own before speaking to any of the police force.

"Alright JJ why don't you brief us on what we have so far so we can get to work," Hotch ordered as the team gathered around the table, immediately opening up the files that JJ passed around.

"Three weeks ago 14 year old Andrea Carson went missing," JJ began as each member of the team turned to a picture of a smiling young girl. "She had left school that afternoon and was reported missing when her dad came home later that evening to find that she hadn't come home. She was found 4 days later dumped in a local park," she continued as the team turned to the second picture of the young girl, clearly beaten and stabbed to death.

"Any signs of sexual assault?" Morgan asked.

"No," JJ replied, shaking her head, relieved that the girls had at least been spared that bit of torture.

"There's ligature marks," Reid pointed out, as JJ took a moment to turn her attention to Emily, who looked paler than usual. "She was obviously tied down."

"There's brusing that looks to be in various stages as well," Rossi added. "So the unsub obviously beat the girl before eventually stabbing her," he said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Just over a week after Andrea was found another girl went missing," JJ then told the team, catching Morgan looking over Emily worriedly. "Teagan Dekker was 16 years old. She also went missing sometime on her way home from school. She was found yesterday also stabbed to death in the forest next to a popular walking trail. There were also ligature marks on her wrists and ankles as well as various bruising."

"Well this guy obviously has a type," Rossi said, as both JJ and Morgan sent worried glances at Emily. "Both these girls have dark hair and eyes and they're of similar ages."

"He's not trying to hide the bodies when he dumps them," Emily added, ignoring the gazes she could feel on her from both her girlfriend and best friend. "He leaves them where he knows they'll be found. He wants to make sure someone finds these girls."

"Could be a sign of remorse," Morgan said, tearing his eyes away from the brunette profiler. "Feels bad for what he did so he makes sure someone finds them."

"Or he could just be proud of his work," Reid added.

"Whatever it is we need to figure it out," Hotch said from the head of the table. "This guy has kidnapped two girls in a very short period of time and the locals are worried that he'll take another girl this week," he continued. "We need to find out everything about these girls and their patterns. We need to know why they were targeted. Morgan I want you and Prentiss to interview the Carson family. Rossi and I will talk to the Dekkers," he explained. "Reid I know we don't have a lot to work with but work the geographic profile as much as you can and then get in contact with Garcia. Find out everything you can about these girls. JJ help Reid here and put together a statement for the press. We need to make sure that people know about this and everyone is being vigilant."

Since everyone had their orders, Hotch stood, heading out to talk to the lead detective, immediately followed by Rossi.

"Well Princess it looks like you're stuck with me today," Morgan said, stretching out his arms before standing from his seat. "You ready to go?"

"Uh yeah," Emily nodded, chancing a quick glance at JJ. "Can you just give me a minute first? Just need to stop in the washroom first."

"Sure," Morgan agreed. "I'll meet you outside."

Making her way through the precinct, Emily quickly headed for the washrooms; knowing JJ would be close behind, understanding that Emily wanted to talk to her. To an outsider Emily looked to be calm and in control, but on the inside the profiler felt sick to her stomach. Seeing pictures of the two young girls who looked so much like her daughter, it had been hard for Emily to keep in together during the briefing. Even though JJ had warned her about what she would see in the files, her stomach had still dropped when she opened it up, unable to stop herself from picturing her own daughter rather than the victims.

"Em, you okay?" JJ asked as she walked into the bathroom, finding Emily leaning up against the sinks, her head down.

"I hate this already Jen," Emily admitted, shaking her head in frustration. "Those girls…I hate it."

"I know," JJ sighed, making her way over to the brunette and placing a comforting hand on her back. "I know it's hard. Trust me I understand, but you have to remember why we're doing this. We need to find this guy so he can't hurt another girl."

"I'm usually so much better at compartmentalizing than this," Emily replied, sounding frustrated. "I already feel out of control and I hate it."

"Em, you know you don't always have to act like the tough one," JJ said, rubbing her back. "The team isn't going to judge you for being affected by this. They'll understand," she assured her. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. I'm pretty sure this case is going to be hard on all of us."

"How…how do I keep my head in this?" Emily asked, turning to face the blonde, the vulnerability written across her face.

"You do it for those girls," JJ replied. "And for their families, because they deserve answers and they deserve justice," she explained. "And you have to remember that they're not Alex. Alex is at home Em. She's safe and she's going to stay that way. I know it's hard but you can do it."

"How can you be so sure?" Emily asked, with the hint of a smile.

"Because I know you Emily Prentiss," JJ replied with a smile, giving the brunette a quick kiss since they were alone. "You're a fine Agent and I know that you can do this. Even though it's going to be hard."

"Thanks," Emily smiled; feeling slightly better, even though she knew this was going to be a challenging case for her. "I better get going before Morgan thinks I've disappeared."

"Good idea," JJ grinned. "I'll see you later Agent Prentiss."

"See you later Agent Jareau," Emily replied, both ladies making their way out of the bathroom and heading their separate ways.


	3. Chapter 3

**So I was all set to get this chapter finished up and posted Monday night, but sometimes life has other plans for you, because that evening just before I could get home to write my sister went into labour! My beautiful little niece made her appearance that evening shortly before midnight! I have been busy loving and snuggling her, but I thought I would take some time to write now! So thanks so much for being patient (you all were so understanding in your reviews last week) and I hope you enjoy this chapter! -J**

**Chapter 3**

**"**Mr. and Mrs. Carson I'm so sorry about Andrea," Emily said as she and Morgan sat on a couch across from the distraught parents in their living room.

"We already talked to the police when Andrea went missing," Mrs. Carson said, her eyes red-rimmed and tired. "And again when they found her. Is this really necessary?"

"We're trained to ask different questions," Morgan replied. "And it helps us to hear things directly from you, rather than the police department."

"We promise, we're only doing this so we can find the man who did this," Emily explained. "And to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else's daughter."

"Alright," Mr. Carson nodded, putting a supportive hand on his wife's leg. "What do you need to know?"

"What was Andrea like?" Morgan started off. "What kind of things did she like to do in her spare time?"

"She was incredibly social," Mr. Carson replied, having given this answer before. "She had a lot of friends. Played basketball and was part of the student council," he explained. "She's…she was just a normal teenager."

"And she always walked home from school?" Emily asked.

"Everyday," Mrs. Carson nodded. "We both work and she didn't like taking the bus since we live so close."

"Did she always take the same route home?" Emily questioned.

"As far as we know," Mr. Carson replied. "Although it's possible she could have taken a different route at some point."

"But for the most part she walked the same way everyday, at the same time?" Morgan asked as both parents nodded.

"She would come straight home from school everyday except Tuesdays and Thursdays when she had basketball practice," Mrs. Carson explained. "But she always came right after that too."

"Did Andrea ever mention anyone following her?" Emily asked. "Did she ever feel like she was being watched?"

"She never said anything," Mr. Carson replied. "But she was a teenager," he continued. "It's possible that she wouldn't have told us. I mean when I was 14 there were plenty of things I didn't tell my parents."

"Did Andrea keep a diary?" Emily asked, understanding Mr. Carson's point.

"On her computer," Mrs. Carson replied. "She wrote almost every night."

"Would you be willing to let us take her computer?" Morgan asked, immediately seeing the hesitation in both parents' eyes. "It could give us some more insight into your daughter's life," he explained. "I promise we will return it to you as soon as we can."

"Yeah…okay," Mrs. Carson replied hesitantly. "I can go get it for you."

"I'll come with you," Emily quickly suggested, giving Morgan a chance to talk to Mr. Carson on his own.

"You know you hear about this kind of thing on the news all the time," Mrs. Carson said as she led Emily towards her daughter's bedroom. "But…y-you never expect it to happen to you….To your kid."

"I know," Emily quietly agreed, placing a comforting hand on the woman's back.

"Do you have kids?" Mrs. Carson asked as they entered Andrea's room, a room, which reminded Emily very much of Alex's bedroom.

"I have a daughter," Emily nodded. "And my partner is expecting a little boy in a few months," she explained with a small smile.

"How old is your daughter?"

"She…she's 14," Emily replied, seeing pain flash through the older woman's eyes as she forced a smile across her face. "Her name's Alex."

"It's a tough age," Mrs. Carson said as she began unplugging Andrea's laptop from where it was sitting at her desk. "They try so hard to be independent, but they still need you," she said, her voice laced with sadness, as Emily remained silent, unsure of what to say. "My daughter was my whole world Agent Prentiss," she said as she turned back to Emily, computer in hand. "Find the man who did this," she said, handing the computer to Emily.

"We will," Emily nodded, determinedly. "We will."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"So how are you doing Princess?" Morgan asked later in the car as he drove; Emily in the passenger seat beside him.

"I'm fine," Emily shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant.

"Em come on," Morgan said skeptically, taking his eyes off the road for a quick second. "I'm a profiler and your best friend. I know you're not fine Princess, so why don't you cut the crap and talk to me."

Folding her arms across her chest defensively Emily sighed. "You know I've never been able to relate to the parents before," she finally said. "I mean I obviously hated the cases that involved kids but it feels different now. I know what it's like to be a parent; to have this person who you just can't imagine losing," she explained. "And these girls…"

"Look just like Alex," Morgan finished understandingly.

"God it's….it's just," Emily stuttered. "I was looking at pictures of Andrea in her room and I just kept seeing Alex. I don't know how to separate myself from this. I can't lock it away in a box."

"Em no one blames you for being affected by this," Morgan replied, patting his friend's knee. "You're allowed to be bothered by this. I mean we all hate it."

"I know," Emily sighed. "I would just feel so much better if we were out of town," she explained. "This is just too close to home for my liking you know."

"I know," Morgan agreed with a nod. "But we have no reason to believe this guy would hunt outside of Alexandria," he assured her. "Plus none of us are going to let anything happen to Lex."

"Yeah I know," Emily replied with a small smile. "Just…just keep reminding me okay?"

"You got it," Morgan smiled as they pulled into the police station parking lot. "I wonder if Hotch and Rossi got anything from the Dekkers," he then said. "Because so far we don't have very much to go off of."

"Not unless we can get something from her diary," Emily replied as they both got out of the car, heading inside to where they knew Reid and JJ would be working.

"Hey," JJ greeted as soon as she saw Emily and Morgan come into the room. "How'd it go with the Carsons?"

"Well they're understandably devastated," Emily replied placing Andrea Carson's laptop on the table before heading to the coffee machine. "They really didn't tell us much besides the fact that Andrea was a relatively social kid who was involved in extra curriculars," she explained as she sat next to JJ, cup of coffee in hand. "And she had a relatively set routine. She walked home from school at the same time and most likely the same way every day."

"Her parents also said she kept a diary on her computer," Morgan added as he took a seat across the table from the two women. "They let us borrow it. Thought boy genius could get through it pretty quickly," he called to Reid who was standing in front of a large map, looking it over.

"Sure but I don't know much about teenage girls," Reid answered, not even bothering to turn around.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Morgan teased as both Emily and JJ laughed, Reid still not bothered as he continued staring at his map. "Hotch and Rossi aren't back yet?" Morgan then asked seeing he wasn't going to faze the youngest profiler.

"No but Hotch called right before you got here," JJ replied. "They'll be here soon. They found out just about as much as you did from the Dekkers," she explained. "Which isn't nearly enough to go on. We're setting a press conference for 3pm and Hotch wants to visit all the local high schools tomorrow to warn students to be safe."

"How many schools is that?" Emily asked.

"Seven," Reid replied, finally turning his attention to his team members. "Hotch also thinks we should increase patrols around the school at the end of the day, hopefully prevent this guy from grabbing another girl."

"Yeah but unfortunately we're not going to catch this guy unless he takes another girl or we catch him in the act," Morgan points out the fact that he absolutely hates.

"Yep," Emily agrees, sounding disappointed. "And that right there is exactly why our job really sucks sometimes."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Later that afternoon, with various media outlets gathered around in front of the Alexandria police department JJ and Hotch stepped outside, JJ's statement held firmly in her hand as she approached the podium that had been set up for her. Simply there to observe the gathered crowd, Hotch stood behind the media liaison, his gaze searching the various faces as JJ cleared her throat and everyone fell silent.

"In the past three weeks 2 young girls have been kidnapped and killed while on their way home from school," JJ began. "The Alexandria police, along with the help of the FBI's behavioural analysis unit are working diligently to find the man who committed these crimes in hopes of preventing him from hurting anyone else. In order to do this we are asking for the help of the Alexandria community. The police department is asking anyone who may have any information on the murders of Andrea Carson and Teagan Dekker to please contact the number on your screen," she continued. "We are also asking anyone who sees or suspects anything suspicious to contact the tip line. In the next few days we're asking all young children and teens to be vigilant, especially on their way home from school. Parents should warn their children to be aware if walking home from school. We suggest walking with a friend or taking the school bus if possible," she explained. "If anyone suspects that they are being followed or watched they should contact authorities immediately," she finished. "At this time I will take a few questions."

"She's good," Rossi said, coming up beside Emily and leaning against the wall where the brunette had been watching her girlfriend, as reporters began hurling questions at the media liaison.

"Yes she is," Emily agreed with a smirk. "So what do you and Hotch think? Is this guy gonna hunt again tomorrow?" She asked, turning to the older profiler.

"I think it's too hard to say," Rossi replied. "We really can't be sure of his timeline with only two kills," he explained. "But I think there's a chance, and since we don't have enough to go on all we can do right now is warn people and hope that it's enough. I mean if enough people know then we're more likely to catch the guy in the act."

"Do you think the press conference will make him more likely to try to grab someone tomorrow?"

"Hotch and I think that's a possibility," Rossi nodded. "And since we think it's likely that he at least watched these girls a couple days before grabbing them he's probably going to be hasty this time, which means he could make a mistake."

"I hate that we have to risk him taking someone else just so we can find him," Emily sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"We all do kiddo," Rossi agreed, watching as JJ continued to field questions from the group of reporters. "But unfortunately it's inevitable at times."

"Yeah I know," Emily nodded, her attention also on her girlfriend who seemed to be putting an end to the press conference.

"Looks like they're done," Rossi said, nodding his head towards JJ and Hotch who were now heading their way.

"Good job up there Jen," Emily said once the pair joined them, all four agents heading back towards the police station entrance.

"Thanks," JJ smiled. "Hopefully enough people see it."

"I've been told it will be playing on both the 6 and 11 o'clock news so I think we should be good," Hotch said, holding open the front doors for his agents. "Plus there will be an article in the morning paper."

"Sounds like we've got our bases covered," Rossi said as they all headed back to where Morgan and Reid were working.

"Reid how's it going with the diary?" Hotch asked as they all took seats around the table, turning his attention towards his youngest agent.

"Andrea wrote daily, mostly about school, her friends and boys and sometimes about things at home," Reid explained. "But she doesn't mention any worries, or indication that someone may have been following or watching her."

"Alright," Hotch sighed. "Morgan has Garcia found anything else? Any connections between the girls?"

"Nothing substantial," Morgan replied. "They're not friends with each other but they have a couple mutual friends on social media, but nothing that sets off any red flags."

"So basically we have a whole lot of nothing," Rossi stated, the rest of the team nodding their agreement disappointedly.

"The best we can do right now is keep the public aware and vigilant," Hotch said. "Tomorrow we'll hit all the schools and the locals will increase their patrols. If we're lucky we'll catch this guy in the act," he continued. "There really isn't much else we can do tonight. Why don't you all head home. We'll start fresh first thing tomorrow."

"That sounds good to me," Morgan said, already standing from his seat. "Come on Genius, I'll give you a ride home," he told Reid.

Reid quickly stood, waving his goodbyes before following Morgan, who was anxious to get out before his boss changed his mind, out the door.

"Well I won't argue with that either," Rossi said, slowly standing up. "I will see you all in the morning."

"We can call Alex," JJ suggested as she turned to Emily. "She'll be happy to be able to come home."

"That sounds perfect," Emily smiled, as she and JJ both left their seats. "See you tomorrow Hotch."

"Have a good night," Hotch said, watching as the last of his agents left, taking a few more minutes for work before he could go home and spend some time with his son.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"So how was work?" Alex asked as she sat down to dinner with Emily and JJ later that night.

"Well we didn't find all that much," JJ replied. "But it was a start. Tomorrow should be better."

"What's the case?" The teen asked, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes, missing the look the two older women exchanged.

"Uhh there were some young girls who were kidnapped and killed," Emily replied, not wanting to elaborate too much.

"In Virginia?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded, biting her lip.

"Is that why you guys didn't want me to be alone?" Alex asked, now understanding her mother's insistence that she stay with the Hastings.

"It's just so hard when it's this close to home," Emily explained. "I think we would both just feel better if we knew you weren't alone."

"Which is why we would really prefer that you stay with Spencer this week," JJ added. "At least if we're going to be working late."

"Okay," Alex agreed, not wanting to cause her mothers any extra stress. "Thanks for letting me come home tonight though."

"Of course," JJ smiled. "We wouldn't have it any other way."

The rest of dinner was spent making small talk, Alex telling the two women about her day and her plans for the week. When they were finished eating, and dishes were put in the dishwasher the three females spent some time sitting together, eventually deciding to play a few rounds of Yahtzee since they knew they were unlikely to get a lot of time together the rest of the week. When Emily eventually sent Alex up to bed since she had school the next day, everyone was reluctant; both women giving Alex an extra long hug before she made her way upstairs.

Since they had an early morning, JJ and Emily headed to bed not long after, walking up the stairs hand in hand. They washed up and got ready for bed together, eventually crawling into bed; Emily curled up behind JJ, her arms wrapped around the blonde and resting on her belly.

"I can't wait till he gets here," JJ sighed, sounding sleepy as Emily rubbed her hand over the growing baby bump.

"Me either," Emily replied, kissing the back of the blonde's neck, feeling her breathing beginning to get deeper as she already began to drift off to sleep. "I love you Jen."

"Love…you," JJ replied just before her breathing evened out.

Knowing her girlfriend had already passed out, Emily laid still, willing herself to fall asleep, as her mind continued to replay the day's events over again. The brunette couldn't help but think about Andrea Carson's mom and the sadness in her eyes as she talked about her daughter. Emily couldn't imagine losing Alex, knowing she wouldn't be able to function if she did. Sighing, Emily closed her eyes; hoping sleep would eventually take over. When 15 minutes had passed and she still felt wide-awake, the brunette carefully pulled her arm out from under JJ, slowly creeping out of bed before heading towards the hallway.

Tiptoeing down the hall, Emily made her way to Alex's bedroom door, opening it as quietly as possible. Needing to be closer to the teen, Emily got into the teen's bed, getting under the covers and stroking a hand through long, brown hair. At her mother's touch, Alex immediate curled up closer to the older brunette; Emily quickly wrapping an arm around her before kissing her forehead.

Letting out a sigh, Emily felt herself relax, reassured by having her daughter in her arms. "I love you sweet girl," Emily whispered, kissing the teen's head as her eyes drifted shut. "I love you so much."


	4. Chapter 4

**So this chapter is a little short, but I promise things will pick up soon! I really hope you guys enjoy! -J**

**Chapter 4**

When Alex woke before her alarm the next morning she was momentarily startled by the presence of another body in her bed; by the weight of an arm across her body. Squinting open her eyes she was met with the sight of her mother sleeping soundly beside her, something, which brought a smile to the teen's face. Still having at least half an hour before she would have to get ready for school, Alex snuggled in closer, burying her face against her mother's shoulder and basking in the moment. It wasn't often that Alex acted like a child, but as she lay curled up in bed with Emily, she couldn't help feeling much younger than she was.

Feeling wide awake, Alex resigned herself to simply keeping her face tucked out of the way; playing with a loose string on Emily's shirt as she listened to her mother sleep. Lost in thought, Alex didn't notice the older brunette's breathing change, nor did she see brown eyes flickering open.

"Hey," Emily said hoarsely, surprising the teen, who chuckled softly as she removed her face from her mother's shirt with a smile. "You been up long?" The older brunette asked, stroking a hand through Alex's hair.

"Just a few minutes," Alex whispered, yawning as Emily pulled her tighter. "When did you get here anyways?"

"Probably about an hour after you went to bed," Emily replied, absentmindedly combing her fingers through her daughter's hair. "I couldn't sleep so I came here."

"Because of the case?" Alex asked even though she knew the answer, having noticed the worried way her mother had watched her the night before. "Are you okay?"

"I…" Emily began, not quite sure how to answer that question. "I will be. This case is just hard. I mean they're all hard, but this one is just worse."

"Because they're my age," Alex said, referring to the victims.

"That's part of it," Emily replied, nodding even though the teen couldn't see her head. "Location may have something to do with it as well," she explained. "I'm not used to this. Usually I feel like you're safe because you're always far away, but you're not far away this time."

"No…" Alex agreed. "But I am okay," she assured the older brunette, titling her head up so she could meet her mother's eyes. "I don't live in Alexandria either."

"I know that," Emily sighed. "I mean my head knows it, but I'm having a hard time convincing my heart," she continued. "I mean part of me just wants to stay home and keep you wrapped up until this is over."

"Yeah except you can't do that," Alex replied with a small smile. "The team needs you. Those girls need you. I'm going to be fine."

At this Emily couldn't help but smile, placing a kiss on Alex's forehead with another deep sigh. "You know sometimes you make if very difficult to remember that you're only 14," she said, making the teen giggle. "Just promise me you'll stay with the Hastings the whole time we're working," she then said. "I'll feel better if I know you're not alone."

"I promise," Alex replied, kissing her mother's cheek. "Now I've got like 5 more minutes until I have to get up," she said. "Can we just stay like this until then?"

"Of course we can," Emily smiled. "There's nothing I'd want more."

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Since it was likely that they would have to work late, Alex had packed a bag to take over to Spencer's since Melissa would be giving her a ride to school. After a quick breakfast with both Emily and JJ Alex had said her goodbyes, getting extra-long hugs from both women before walking across the street to the Hastings; Emily's watchful eyes on her the whole time.

"You ready to head out?" JJ asked, coming up behind the brunette and wrapping her arms around her waist from behind, kissing her shoulder.

"Yeah," Emily sighed, turning her head to give the blonde a proper kiss. "I just have to grab my coat."

Walking to the front closet, Emily grabbed her own jacket and put it on before getting JJ hers, holding it out so the blonde could put it on. Both grabbing their briefcases they were soon heading out the door, Emily pausing to lock it behind them before making their way to the car.

"Sorry I left you on your own last night," Emily said after climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car. "I just couldn't get to sleep."

"You don't have to apologize Em," JJ replied shaking her head. "I get it and honestly if this pregnancy didn't have me completely exhausted I probably would have been right there with you, but right now I could pretty much fall asleep under any circumstances."

"I remember those days," Emily laughed, taking one hand off the wheel and taking the blonde's hand.

"Are you feeling any better at least?" JJ asked, rubbing circles against the back of the brunette's hand with her thumb.

"I think so," Emily nodded. "I mean I still hate this, but I had a good talk with Alex last night. I think I can at least keep my head where it needs to be."

"Of course you can," JJ smiled. "You're the strongest person I know Em," she said, squeezing her hand. "I mean obviously it's going to be hard at times but you always do what you need to do to bring justice to the victims; to give the families answers."

"Thank you," Emily replied emotionally, taking her eyes off the road for a short moment so she could meet the blonde's eyes. "I love you so much Jen. I honestly have no idea what I would do without you."

"Well it's a good thing you won't ever have to find that out," JJ assured her with a smile. "I love you and I'm here for you okay? Whatever you need."

"I know," Emily smiled. "And that means more to me than you'll ever know."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When JJ and Emily and arrived at the precinct it was to find that everyone besides Morgan was already there, all sitting around the table with coffee in hand, discussing trivial things while they waited for the rest of the team. Joining them, Emily had grabbed a cup of coffee of her own before taking a seat next to JJ just as Morgan walked in the door. As soon as Morgan had a coffee of his own and had taken a seat at the table Hotch had begun discussing the plan for the day. Wanting to hit all the high schools in Alexandria in order to ensure that they were able to warn all the teens in the area, Hotch was sending the team in pairs along with members of the local police department, to the various schools in hopes that they would all visit two schools, with one group hitting three before the end of the day.

The team had discussed what they would say at the schools, stressing the fact that they wanted to warn all students to be vigilant, not just brown hair, brown eyed girls. They wanted to be sure that everyone was being safe and taking precautions in case the unsub changed his M.O. Having already decided on the teams, Hotch had instructed Morgan to go with Rossi and Emily to go with Reid, while JJ would be with him.

Giving JJ's hand a squeeze before she left, Emily had led Reid out to the car, immediately getting into the driver's seat since she knew the younger profiler preferred not to drive. The ride to Edison High School; the school where Andrea Carson had gone, was spent mostly in silence, with Reid occasionally sharing a random fact about Alexandria.

By the time they arrived at the school the principal had already gathered the students in the auditorium, where he stood in front of them explaining that the FBI wanted to talk to them. Since Reid was often awkward in front of large crowds, Emily knew she would be taking the lead today as she, Reid and two Alexandria officers got up on the stage.

"Hi guys," Emily greeted, feeling slightly awkward. "I'm Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Dr. Spencer Reid, we're with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit, and these are Officers Cole and Peck," she introduced. "We're here today because we want to talk to you about the recent murders in the area. As you all know Andrea Carson was kidnapped on her way home from school and so was another young girl around the same age named Teagan Dekker, shortly after Andrea's body was found," she continued. "We have every reason to believe that both these girls were killed by the same man, and we want to do everything we can to ensure that he doesn't hurt anyone else. Now I know all of your are old enough to be on your own and get home from school alone, but we're asking that until we find the person responsible for these crimes that you take extra precautions to guarantee your safety."

At this Emily took a pause, looking around to see that she had the attention of most of the students, while a few seemed to be whispering amongst themselves or checking their phones. "The best way for you to do this is to walk home in groups, or take the bus home if possible," she continued. "This guy is looking to find someone on their own, someone who may not be paying attention, so you need to keep alert, especially if you're on your own," she explained. "If you feel like you are being followed, or watched, if you have any concerns at all you should get to a safe place and contact the authorities immediately." At this the hand of a boy sitting in the middle of the auditorium went up. "Go ahead," Emily instructed.

"This guy has killed two girls," the boy said. "Two girls who had a pretty similar look. Doesn't that mean the rest of us are safe?"

"Not necessarily," Reid replied. "Just because he's only killed girls so far doesn't mean he won't deviate from this pattern if the opportunity arose. At this point it's really too early to identify whether or not he has a type."

"Do you think he'll take another kid today?" A young girl called out from the front.

"We really can't be sure," Emily responded. "But until we catch him we run the risk of him grabbing someone else, which is why we're here today," she explained. "We want to be sure that _everyone_ is doing everything they can. And for the time being police officers and Agents will be patrolling the areas around all the high schools in the area in hopes of catching this guy."

"It is extremely important that if you see anything; if you suspect anything at all that you tell someone," Reid added. "Even if it's nothing it's better to be safe."

"Does anyone have any other questions?" Emily asked as a few hands rose throughout the sea of students. "Alright we'll start with you in the red."

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**"**So do you think we're going to catch this guy in the act?" Emily asked Reid as they sat down with sandwiches after their second talk later that afternoon.

"Well he probably knows we're here so it's likely that he's going to be extra precautious," Reid replied. "But I think we got through to most of those kids so I hope so."

"And do you think he's going to look for someone today?"

"There was more time between Andrea Carson's and Teagan Dekker's kidnappings but given the media coverage I think it's likely that he will want to grab someone as soon as he can," Reid explained. "Prove that he can still get away with it."

"God I hope we find him," Emily sighed, her stomach filled with worry as she picked at her sandwich. "These girls are just kids. I mean no one deserves this kind of torture but they had so much living left."

At this Reid nodded understandingly, also hating the fact that the victims were so young. "Did you tell Alex about the case?" He then asked, knowing that most of the brunette's worry stemmed from the fact that her daughter fit victomology.

"I told her some of it," Emily shrugged. "I didn't tell her that she fits the unsub's type if that's what you mean."

"That's understandable," Reid nodded. "I mean you don't want to scare her, especially since it really isn't necessary," he said. "It's unlikely that he would look for someone outside of his comfort zone. What Alex doesn't know can't really hurt her."

"No it can't," Emily agreed. "But I think I'm kind of freaking her out with all my worrying."

"Well I don't know much about having kids, but I think your behaviour is pretty normal," Reid said, making Emily smile. "And I'm pretty sure Alex understands your job enough to get why you're scared."

"Thanks Reid," Emily smiled, just as her phone began to ring. Pulling the object from her pocket she immediately checked the caller I.D. "It's Jen," she said before hitting the button to answer. "Hey Jen."

"Hey Em," the blonde replied from the other end of the phone. "How'd this morning go for you and Reid?"

"Pretty good," Emily replied. "The kids had a lot of questions, but I think it went well. How'd it go with you guys?"

"Pretty good," JJ replied. "Though Teagan Dekker's school was hard," she said, sounding sad. "I mean it was all pretty fresh for them. There were quite a few kids who were pretty upset. Hotch had to basically take over that one because I was too choked up to talk." she said, shame laced in her voice.

"Yeah well unlike the rest of us you have all those extra hormones to deal with," Emily reminded her. "Hotch knows that. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," JJ replied. "It's just…." She cut off, not quite sure how to explain her feelings.

"Yeah, I know," Emily said, understanding exactly what the blonde meant. "I'm feeling a lot of that too," she said with a smile in her voice. "So did Hotch at least treat you to a nice lunch?" She asked in an attempt to distract the blonde.

"We just drove through McDonalds, which I was pretty happy about because I was craving a Big Mac like crazy. Have you and Reid eaten?"

"We're doing that right now," Emily replied, smiling at the thought of JJ devouring a Big Mac. "Does Hotch still want us patrolling the areas he gave us this morning or has the plan changed since then?"

"He said everything is still set as planned," the blonde replied. "We'll all circle the areas for an hour or so and if we don't find anything we'll meet back at the station while the locals continue just in case."

"And you're still planning on riding with Hotch?" Emily asked, slightly anxious about her girlfriend being out in the field.

"Yes," JJ sighed. "But I will be staying in the car if anything happens. Promise."

"Okay," Emily replied with relief. "I guess I will be seeing you later then gorgeous. Be safe."

"You too," JJ said. "Love you."

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Since school let out at 2:30pm, each pair had begun their patrols at 2:00pm, keeping an eye out for anyone who looked out of place or suspicious. Hotch and JJ were circling the neighbourhoods near Teagan Dekker's schools; Hotch at the wheel while JJ sat in the passenger seat, scanning the streets carefully.

"This guy has to have a car," Hotch said, as he drove carefully, while also keeping an eye out. "He somehow gets these girls in it without anyone noticing, so look for any vehicle that is parked somewhere it shouldn't be; somewhere where it's almost out of sight. Keep an eye out for anyone who's sitting in their car," he continued, knowing that the rest of the team was also listening. "He'll be far enough away from the school that he can't be picking someone up, but close enough that he'll intercept someone on their way home."

"He probably hasn't had enough time to stalk out his next victim," Rossi's voice came through the phone, which was on speaker. "So if he does grab someone today it will be out of convenience, which means he could make a mistake."

"We should probably be keeping an eye out for students walking alone," Reid added. "Especially brunettes because this is who he'll be looking for as well."

"We should all keep each other posted on our status," Hotch instructed. "And everyone be safe," he concluded, hanging up the phone for now. "Now we wait," he said turning his head towards JJ as he continued his drive through their assigned blocks.

"Wait and hope," JJ added, really hoping that they somehow managed to catch this guy as easily as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you're still enjoying this story. Though it's a little slower than usual, I'm enjoying writing it, so I hope you stick with me through the ride! -J**

**Chapter 5**

There were cops all around the city. Cops and FBI agents in black SUVs, circling the neighbourhoods around the high schools like it was going to make a difference. They thought if they combed the area they would find him; they thought they'd catch him in the act, but they were wrong. They were wrong because he was good at what he did. He had a strategy; he had his ways, and even with the presence of the extra law enforcement, Oliver Palmer felt confident that he would succeed in getting another girl.

He hadn't planned on taking another girl so soon. He normally liked to take his time; get to know his girls first, but then he saw that blonde on the news and he knew what he had to do. The FBI thought they could stop him by warning people, by telling them to be extra cautious, but they didn't know him. They didn't know what he was capable of, and he was about to show them exactly what he could do.

As the sounds of the nearby school bell ringing filled the air, Oliver got into position, knowing that despite the FBI's warning he would find someone, because they're teenagers after all. Teenagers liked to defy rules; they liked to think they're indestructible and so he felt sure he would find her. He would find his girl. He just had to sit and wait.

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"Well I'm guessing since we're all here nobody saw anything," Emily stated dryly as she and Reid made their way into the conference room the team had been using later that evening, finding that the rest of the team sat waiting for them.

"Absolutely nothing," JJ replied for her and Hotch. "Though on a positive note most of the kids we saw were walking in groups."

"Well at least there's that," Rossi said. "So where do we go from here then Hotch?"

"I thought for sure the press conference would have drawn our unsub out," Reid stated before Hotch could answer.

"Well technically we don't know that it hasn't kid," Morgan pointed out. "I mean he could have grabbed someone and we just don't know it yet."

"But we had people everywhere," JJ argued. "Do you really think that's possible?"

"If he's good," Hotch replied. "Which, I'm guessing he is. He would have known we were out if he did plan on taking another girl today, meaning he would have had to be extra careful. There's a real possibility that he could have taken someone else already, or he could find another way to find someone later."

"So basically we have to wait?" Emily asked, sounding slightly irritated, hating the idea that they were sitting and waiting for a teenage girl to be abducted.

"Unfortunately that's all we can do right now," Hotch replied disappointedly. "I have officers manning the phones and they're to alert us if there are any reports of missing teens and Garcia is still looking through Andrea Carson and Teagan Dekker's lives, seeing if anything pops up," he explained. "For now we should all grab dinner, if someone has been taken we'll be in for a long night."

At this Hotch left the room, going to search for the lead detective, wanting to discuss their plans moving forward before taking a moment to call Haley and Jack. With their leader gone, the rest of the team sat back in their seats, all disappointed, but knowing that Hotch was right.

"Well I could go for a pizza if anyone else wants in," Morgan said, pulling out his cell to make the call.

"Works for me," Emily replied. "I'm going to call Alex though. Jen, you wanna come?"

"Definitely," JJ replied, standing and following the brunette out of the room; Emily already dialing Alex's number while she searched for an empty room where they could talk to the teen. Finding a deserted interview room, Emily hit send on her phone while JJ shut the door behind them, the sound of a phone ringing filling the room as Emily put the speakerphone on.

"Hey mom," Alex's voice greeted after just 3 rings.

"Hey sweetie," Emily replied, the sound of her daughter's voice bringing a smile to her face. "JJ's here too."

"Hi sweetheart," JJ greeted as she and Emily both took seats on the table.

"Hey JJ," Alex replied happily. "How's it going? You guys coming home?"

"No," Emily replied, her shoulders slumping as JJ rubbed her back reassuringly. "We're actually just taking a break for dinner so we thought we'd check in."

"How was school?" JJ asked.

"It was school," Alex said. "Nothing too exciting. Classes, friends, teachers. The usual."

"Wow don't sounds so enthused, we might think you enjoy it," Emily joked, the teen's laughter filling the room.

"Well it's not exactly the best 7 hours of my day, but it could be worse," Alex replied, still laughing. "Although Olivia does tend to keep lunch interesting. She's always got some crazy story about someone to share."

"I bet she does," JJ laughed. "That girl does tend to be a fountain of knowledge."

"You mean gossip," Alex corrected her. "It's her favourite subject."

"You gotta love her," Emily laughed. "How are things with the Hastings?"

"Good," Alex replied. "Veronica has a big case so she's still at work, so Peter just went to get us take-out from that Italian place that JJ likes."

"Mmmmm," JJ moaned. "I haven't been there in forever. I want Italian," she said, rubbing her belly.

"Well we are having pizza," Emily teased.

"That so doesn't count," JJ whined, Alex's giggling coming through the phone.

"Sorry JJ," the teen laughed. "I'll eat extra for you though."

"Oh gee thanks," JJ replied with a pout, Emily giving her a light shove before putting her arm around her and pulling her close. "Do you guys have any other plans tonight?"

"Just a little homework," Alex replied. "Do you guys think you'll make it home at all?"

"Hard to say," Emily replied. "You'll definitely have to stay there though."

"I know," Alex said just as the sounds of a muffled voice came over the phone. "Hey guys Spencer's dad is back."

"Alright kid go eat then," Emily replied. "I'll text you later and we'll both call you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay," Alex agreed. "Be safe! I love you both!"

"Love you too," Emily replied.

"Love you honey," JJ added. "Be good."

"I'll do my best," Alex joked. "Night."

"Night," both women replied before Emily hit the end call button.

"I know we just saw her this morning, but I already miss her," Emily said, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"Me too," JJ sighed, turning her head to place a kiss in dark hair. "We're so doomed when this little guy gets here," she said, rubbing her baby bump.

"Yes, yes we are."

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They were halfway through their dinner when a cop came rushing into the room, the look on his face telling the team all they needed to know.

"We just got a call," he announced, the team already standing, ready for action. "Meghan Cruise; single mother, got home to find that her 15-year-old daughter Cameron hadn't returned from school. She's normally straight home from school and mom can't reach her on her cell phone."

"Brunette? Brown eyes?" Hotch asked from where he stood at the head of the table.

"Yes sir," the officer replied.

"Alright Prentiss, Morgan you two head to the Cruise house and talk to the mother," Hotch ordered, both Agents nodding before immediately heading out, knowing they could get the address from another officer on their way out. "I assume you know the girls route home from school?" Hotch then asked, turning to the officer who still stood near the door, now nodding. "Alright Rossi and I will head out there and see if we can find anything. Reid, JJ you two get with Garcia, find out everything you can on Cameron and we'll call you when we have something for the geographic profile," he said before leading Rossi out the door.

"I'll call Garcia," JJ said now that she and Reid were left on their own.

The blonde immediately hit the technical analyst's speed-dial, Garcia's bubbly voice filling the room after just one ring, "Office of the All-Knowing."

"Garcia we have another missing girl," JJ quickly told her, picturing Garcia immediately setting her hands over the keyboard, ready for instructions. "We need you to find everything you can on Cameron Cruise. Her mother is Meghan Cruise."

"Find out if she has any connection to either of the other girls as well," Reid called out.

"Got it," Garcia replied, the sound of typing already coming over the phone. "I will get back to you in a jiffy," she said before hanging up.

"Unsub's broken his routine," JJ said, turning her attention to Reid. "This is significantly less time than there was between Andrea and Teagan."

"It is," Reid agreed. "Which probably means he saw your press conference."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" JJ asked, a little weary of hearing the answer.

"Honestly?" Reid shrugged. "At this point it could go either way."

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As soon as Emily and Morgan had the address for the Cruise house they were out the door and in one of the waiting SUVs. With Morgan at the wheel they were at the house in record time; approaching the small, redbrick home and quickly knocking on the front door. When the door opened it was to reveal a distraught looking Meghan Cruise; a woman in her mid-thirties with short, brown hair and eyes that were filled with tears.

"Ms. Cruise," Emily greeted, pulling out her badge. "We're Agents Prentiss and Morgan with the FBI," she explained. "We have a team of Agents and cops out searching for your daughter, but we need to ask you a few questions. May we come in?"

"Of…of course," Meghan stuttered, wiping away a few tears as she moved to let the Agents inside. "Are…are they looking for her? Was it…I mean do you think it was….was it the same man that took those other girls?"

"We can't be certain ma'am," Morgan replied as they all moved into the family room, watching as Emily caught sight of a photo of the young girl; visibly flinching as she saw the similarities to her own daughter. "But given your daughter's physical attributes we think it's very likely," he explained. "But I hope you know we're going to do everything we can to find Cameron. We have teams out there already. We'll be working all night, trying to bring her home."

"Can you tell us a little about your daughter?" Emily asked, gesturing towards the couch, wanting Meghan to sit down. "Give us an idea of what kind of kid she is."

"She's uh…she's 15," Meghan began, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She's a pretty quiet kid. Likes to read, and she spends most of her time writing stories," she explained. "She has a few close friends that she spends her weekends with, but for the most part she likes to stay home with me."

"Was she involved in any extra-curriculars?" Morgan asked.

"No," Meghan shook her head. "Cameron doesn't particularly enjoy being in large groups," she explained. "She's pretty shy when she's around people she doesn't know well."

"Did she know either Andrea Carson or Teagan Dekker?" Emily asked, showing Meghan school pictures of the two girls.

"No," Meghan replied. "When we saw them on the news she said she'd never seen either one of them."

"Did Cameron always walk home alone?" Emily then questioned, wondering why the shy girl would have walked alone after the warning at her school that day.

"No," Meghan replied, wiping away the tears that fell down her cheek. "She always walked home with her best friend Kayla. She just lives down the street, but she…she was home with the flu today," she sobbed. "It's just the two of us and I work till five so I can't pick her up from school. Cameron is…she's not someone who would just approach someone and ask for a ride, or for someone to walk with her. God I…I just don't even know what to do."

"I know this is hard," Emily said, getting up from her spot and moving to join the mother on the couch. "All of this; answering these questions, helps us and we're going to do everything we can to find Cameron," she said, taking the woman's hand. "You just need to trust us."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When Garcia had sent Cameron Cruise's picture to Reid and JJ, the young genius watched as JJ visibly paled; the similarities between Cameron and Alex too obvious to ignore. Trying to appear unaffected, the blonde had taken a deep breath before turning away from the photo, listening instead as Garcia told them everything she had found. When Hotch had called about the crime scene, Reid had moved to work on his map, adding Cameron's school and home to his geographic profile, better able to guess the area where the unsub may live.

As she read through the piles of information Garcia had sent her, JJ tried her best to keep her eyes off Cameron's picture; her stomach queasy at the sight of the long dark hair and the smile that reminded her more of Alex than either of the other girls. She did her best to bury herself in work, but every now and then the blonde would catch a glimpse of the picture and the uneasy feeling would grow.

Hotch and Rossi had returned first, explaining they had found Cameron's cell phone on her route home, knowing there was really nothing they could get from it since the unsub had obviously chosen Cameron at random and out of convenience.

"Did you get anything from the scene though?" Reid had asked as the two older men took seats at the table.

"Found tire marks not too far from where the phone was found," Rossi replied. "We can't really be sure but we're assuming they're from our guy."

"They were near the entrance to a park, between two trees, so from the looks of it he keeps his car just out of sight, but somehow manages to get the girls off the road and out of sight to anyone who may be passing by," Hotch explained.

"He could be using a ruse of some sort," Reid suggested.

"That's what we thought too," Rossi nodded. "Now we just have to figure out what it is," he said just as Morgan and Emily returned.

"Well from the sounds of it Cameron Cruise is basically the complete opposite of Andrea and Teagan," Emily said as she sat down on JJ's right, her shoulders slumping.

"Her mother described her as being shy," Morgan continued. "Her best friend, who she normally walks home with, was out sick today, which is why her mom thinks she still would have walked alone after our warnings."

"So Cameron fits the physical victimology of the other girls, but she has a vastly different personality," Reid said. "Which means the unsub obviously chose her on a whim. He saw an opportunity and he took it."

"Meaning he must have followed the other girls long enough to get an idea of what they were like," Emily pointed out, glancing quickly at JJ, concerned by the sullen expression on the blonde's face.

"So he must have seen my press conference," JJ concluded quietly.

"Most likely," Hotch nodded. "And now he's trying to prove he can outsmart us."

"So what does that mean for Cameron?" JJ asked, once again unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"This guy wants these girls to fit some sort of delusion," Morgan replied. "Some sort of fantasy…maybe they're a surrogate for someone, but Cameron isn't going to fit this role."

"Which means?" JJ asked again.

"Which means we need to find her," Hotch told the blonde, turning his attention to the rest of the team and missing the worried look on JJ's face. "And fast. We need to go back to the scene and canvass the area; find out if anyone saw anything. We'll head out in teams. Rossi you're with Reid, Morgan with Prentiss and JJ with me," he said, receiving nods of agreement from everyone but JJ whom had a far away look on her face. "JJ?"

"What?" The blonde said looking confused, as everyone's attention seemed to be on her. "Right, of course," she said, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to. "I uh…just need to make a pit stop first," she said gesturing towards her stomach in explanation, not waiting before quickly heading out of the room and towards the washrooms.

"Hotch?" Emily asked, nodding in the direction the blonde left, already out of her seat.

"Go ahead," the Unit Chief nodded. "We'll meet you out by the cars," he called; the brunette already out of the room.

Emily had to resist the urge to run to the washroom, speed walking through the precinct and towards where she knew she would find her girlfriend. When she opened the door to the washroom it was to find JJ in the last stall with the door still open, dry heaving over the toilet.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay," Emily comforted, rubbing comforting circles on the blonde back. "Just breath baby," she said as the JJ continued to gag, but not bringing anything up. "It's okay."

It was a few minutes before JJ was able to calm herself down enough that she was able to pull away from the toilet, leaning back against Emily's legs, as she took deep, calming breaths.

"I'm sorry," the blonde said as Emily helped her to her feet. "I just…my stomach."

"Hey, Jen stop that," Emily said shaking her head as she rubbed her hand up and down her girlfriend's arm. "You have nothing to apologize for," she assured her. "Are you okay though? What happened?"

"I just saw her and I couldn't get this sick feeling out of my stomach," JJ replied, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Cameron?" Emily asked, though she knew the answer.

"Yeah," JJ nodded. "She just…I mean…there's just something…"

"It's in the smile," Emily finished as JJ nodded. "I know I felt it too."

"I'm sorry," JJ apologized once again. "I shouldn't be…"

"Jen this is allowed to affect you too," Emily cut her off. "I know this case is hard for you too. I know how much you care about Alex so obviously this is hard. Please don't apologize for loving my daughter because she loves you too. So much," she said, brushing away the tear that escaped down the blonde's cheek before giving her a quick kiss.

"This is all just too much," JJ sniffed. "He's going to kill that little girl Em."

"We could find him in time," Emily countered. "We can't lose hope in that yet."

"I know that, really I do," JJ nodded. "But my heart just…it just hurts for these girls."

"I know Jen," Emily replied, running a hand through golden locks. "Mine does too, but we're going to get this guy. We're going to get justice for these families and we're going to make sure he can't hurt anyone else," she assured her firmly, knowing she needed to be strong for the blonde, who had been so strong for her. "Hotch wants us out looking for witnesses," she then explained, knowing JJ hadn't truly heard what the unit chief had asked her back in the conference room. "Are you going to be okay to go?"

"Yes," JJ nodded confidently. "You're right, we're going to find this guy," she said. "Thank you though. For this I mean."

"Always," Emily smiled giving the blonde another quick peck and squeezing her hand. "Now let's go do this."


	6. Chapter 6

**So this one's a little short, but I'm happy that I'm able to get it to you quickly! I have a lot of plans for this story, so I really hope you're enjoying it! Thanks so much for reading! And I really appreciate all the reviews! You guys rock! -J**

**Chapter 6**

Tuesday morning Alex woke up in Spencer's bed; the taller brunette still fast asleep next to her. Glancing at the clock on Spencer's bedside table Alex saw that they still had another 20 minutes before the alarm would demand that they get up and ready for school, but the teen already felt wide awake. Grabbing her cell phone, Alex checked her messages, wondering if her mothers had messaged her at all. Seeing she had no messages, Alex quietly crawled out of bed, careful not to rouse her friend as she tiptoed across the bedroom, towards the window where she knew she would have a view of her own house across the street.

Emily and JJ had driven Emily's car to Alexandria, but it wasn't parked in it's usual spot in the driveway, meaning the duo had either worked all night or had been up at the crack of dawn in order to return to work. Hoping her mothers were doing better than they had been the previous day, Alex let her thoughts drift off, not hearing her friend waking up behind her.

"What are you doing?" Spencer called sleepily from where she still lay in bed, making Alex jump.

"I just wanted to see if my mom's car was home," Alex replied quietly, making her way back to bed. "It's not," she said as she got back under the covers next to her friend, searching for warmth.

"Do you think they worked all night?" Spencer asked through a yawn.

"Probably," Alex nodded. "They haven't told me much about the case but I think it's a bad one. They both seemed pretty shaken up when I saw them on Sunday."

"That has to be the hardest job ever," Spencer said thoughtfully. "I mean seeing all those people get killed. Getting into the minds of killers. It must be exhausting."

"Yeah," Alex agreed softly. "I'm sure it messes with them more than they let me see, but they both always seem so strong to me."

"Yeah I know what you mean," Spencer agreed. "Both of them are completely badass," she said making Alex laugh. "I mean you definitely have the coolest parents ever."

"I kind of do, don't I?" Alex laughed. "I'll never let them know that though. It would go straight to Emily's head and JJ would get all emotional. I prefer they think I barely tolerate them," she joked.

"Oh please those two know you completely adore them," Spencer laughed. "And the feeling is totally mutual. They couldn't love you more if they tried. You've got it good Lex."

"Yeah," Alex agreed with a smile. "I kind of do."

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Still hoping to hear from one or both of her mothers Alex checked her phone between classes regularly, happy when she found a message waiting for her just before her lunch period began. Opening the message Alex found a quick explanation from Emily, stating that they hadn't returned home the previous night, as they were still working and that they both missed her very much. Taking a chance since she had the period off, Alex hit Emily's speed-dial, slipping into the nearest bathroom as she brought the phone to her ear.

"Hey kid," Emily answered after just two rings. "Shouldn't you be in class? What's wrong?"

"It's lunch," Alex replied with a laugh, knowing it was likely her mother hadn't looked at a clock in a while. "I just missed you so I thought I'd check in. How's it going?" She asked as she paced around the deserted bathroom.

"Well it could be better," Emily replied with a sigh. "It was a long night and today feels even longer. Things just aren't going as well as we hoped it would."

"Did someone else go missing?" Alex asked, unsure if Emily would really want to answer that while the teen was at school. "Is that why you had to work all night?"

Since she really didn't like the idea of sharing the details of a case with her teenage daughter, Emily bit her lip as she thought about her answer, eventually realizing that Alex would be able to tell if she was lying to her. "Another girl went missing late yesterday afternoon," she explained. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to find anything useful yet, so we're still searching for her."

"Do you think you'll find her?"

"I really hope so kid," Emily sighed. "But I really don't know," she sighed. "I really miss you though babe."

"I miss you too," Alex replied, with a smile. "I was really hoping I could come see you guys this morning before you left, but when I looked over your car wasn't there."

"I would have loved that," Emily said, sounding bummed. "You know it's weird but I think I do better on cases when I'm further away."

"I know exactly what you mean," Alex laughed. "It's harder not being able to see you when I know you're so close to home. It's weird."

"I agree," Emily replied, glancing at the clock on the wall for the first time that day. "I better let you go soon though or you're not going to get a chance to eat," she said. "And I'm sure the girls are wondering where you are."

"Yeah that's true," Alex sighed. "Is JJ close by?"

"She's actually working on a press release with Hotch," Emily replied.

"Okay well tell her I miss her too okay?" Alex asked. "And tell her to call me if she gets a chance."

"You got it babe," Emily agreed happily, knowing the message would bring a smile to her girlfriend's face. "I love you kiddo. Hopefully I'll be able to see you soon."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Alex replied. "Love you mom. Be safe, and I'll talk to you soon."

"Talk to you soon kid," Emily responded before both brunettes hung up their phones, both hoping to see each other soon.

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"Where have you been?!" Olivia asked as soon as Alex sat down at their usual table, putting a tray with a sandwich on it down in front of her. "Lunch started like 15 minutes ago."

"I stopped to call my mom," Alex replied as she sat down next to Spencer. "I will be sure to check in with you first next time though," she said sarcastically.

"How's it going with the case?" Zoey asked, having heard about it from Spencer earlier that morning.

"Not great," Alex replied, taking a bite of her sandwich. "She sounded pretty bummed out."

"They're working on that case in Alexandria?" Logan asked as her took a seat on Alex's other side, having heard the conversation as he made his way over. "The missing girl?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, unable to hide her smile as the blonde boy gave her hand a quick squeeze before placing his arm on the back of her chair. "I think they're having a pretty hard time with it."

"I bet," Logan replied. "It must be extra hard for them, given everything."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Haven't you seen the news?" Logan asked, a concerned look on his face.

"No, my mom told me not to," Alex shook her head, a confused look on her face. "Why? What's going on? What is it?"

"It's just…well…" Logan stuttered, realizing he probably shouldn't have said anything. "I…maybe I shouldn't…I mean your mom obviously didn't want you to know. Just forget I said anything."

"Logan," Alex said warningly. "What is it? I mean they told me that these girls are my age," she explained. "Is that it? I mean what else is there?"

"Lex," Logan groaned, receiving a raised eyebrow in return telling him he better just tell his girlfriend what she wanted to know. "Alright," he sighed. "It's just that these girls aren't just your age…they…they also look a lot like you."

"What do you mean?" Both Olivia and Zoey asked.

"I mean they all have brown hair and brown eyes," the blonde boy explained. "And this last girl that went missing is practically your twin," he added. "I mean same long hair, same big smile."

"Oh," Alex replied, suddenly at a loss for words. "Well I guess that explains the weirdness then," she said quietly.

"Your moms probably didn't want to freak you out," Zoey reasoned as she looked from both Alex to Spencer, noticing both looked slightly worried. "I mean it's not like you need to be worried or anything, but it's still a little scary."

"Yeah that's true," Alex agreed with a nod.

"They're just trying to protect you," Olivia added. "You know how parents are."

"You're not going to tell them I told you are you?" Logan asked, looking worried. "I mean I'm pretty sure your mom already has it out for me," he said, breaking the seriousness of the moment and making all four girls laugh.

"Don't worry," Alex shook her head. "I won't say anything," she said. "It's better they don't know I know. They're probably having a hard enough time with this as it is," she explained. "I'll keep you in mom's good books for now…well maybe not her good book….but her okay book at least."

"Ha ha," Logan replied sarcastically. "You know one day I'm going to get your mom to like me," he said, glad to be able to change the subject, the mood lightening significantly as Alex's friends laughed along with the couple.

"My mom likes you," Alex argued. "She just doesn't like that you make out with her daughter," she laughed. "She would much prefer if we were just friends who kept an appropriate distance from each other," she joked, despite the worried feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Man I wish I could have seen Emily's face when she walked in on your two making out," Olivia laughed. "I bet it was priceless."

"Oh you have no idea," Logan nodded with a smile.

With the topic now off the missing girls and Alex's moms, the five teens continued to chat about random things, all laughing and smiling as they enjoyed their time together before they would be forced to return to class. But as she listened to Olivia telling a story about her last class, Alex couldn't help but think about her mothers, wondering how they were doing, and just why they hadn't been completely honest with her about their case.

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None of the teens had brought up the missing girls for the rest of the day. Logan, who hoped Emily and JJ wouldn't find out he had told Alex about the case, had told the young brunette not to worry before giving her a kiss on the cheek and telling her he would call her later. On the way home from school Alex had wanted to talk to Spencer about it, but before the words could leave her mouth, the shorter of the two brunettes realized that Spencer fit the victimology just as much as she did, and thought it was better to just let it go.

Since she had a test to study for, as soon as they returned to the Hastings' house, Spencer had headed upstairs to her room, while Alex sat down in front of the family computer, having a paper to type up. Wanting to get her work done, Alex had forced herself to concentrate, but as time passed, and she neared the end of her paper, the curious teen couldn't help letting her mind wander.

Bringing up the internet browser, Alex typed "Alexandria, Virginia murders", into the search bar, instantly coming up with a ton of results; the teen choosing to click on the first news website she found. Spending the next few minutes reading about the three teens who had gone missing, two of which had been found murdered, Alex didn't hear anyone coming down the stairs.

"Wow she really does look just like me," Alex whispered, staring at a picture of Cameron Cruise.

"Who looks like you?" Spencer asked, coming up behind Alex, who quickly tried to minimize the page she was looking at. "Alex," Spencer gasped, having seen what her friend was searching. "Why are you looking at that? Your moms told you not to."

"I just wanted to see," Alex replied defensively. "I was just curious okay? It's not a big deal. I'm not a child, I'm not going to get freaked out and have nightmares because I've looked at this. Just relax."

"Alex what good could possibly come from knowing about these girls?" Spencer asked, as she sat down next to the other girl. "I know you're not a kid, but there's really no reason for this. I mean you've told me before Emily and JJ don't like sharing the details of their cases with you."

"I know that," Alex sighed. "But this is different. They've been acting weird, and they're so close. I just wanted to know. I mean isn't it better that I know? Better that we know? I mean in case you haven't noticed Spence we both look just like these girls."

"Yeah but we don't live in Alexandria," Spencer replied, shaking her head. "We're perfectly safe, and I'm pretty sure if we weren't your moms...hell the whole team, would have told us and made sure we were aware," she argued. "There's no reason for us to know all of this. Now come on. Print your paper and let's go watch some TV before dinner," she said sounding slightly irritated as she left the room.

"Alright," Alex relented, knowing her friend was probably right, and that her mother's wouldn't want her obsessing over things she didn't need to worry about.

Getting rid of her internet search, Alex quickly looked over her paper again before hitting print, grabbing it and putting it in her binder before going out to join Spencer in the family room.

"You were right, I'm sorry," Alex said, taking a seat next to her friend on the couch. "I just….I just needed to see."

"I know," Spencer nodded. "But your moms wouldn't want you to worry. I mean I'm pretty sure you've had enough things to worry about for a 14-year-old."

"You've got that right," Alex laughed. "Don't worry I'll stay away from the case from now on," she promised. "So what are you watching?"

"Ellen," Spencer replied with a smile as both girls turned their attention to the happy talk show.

"So how come you're not studying anymore anyway?" Alex eventually asked as they continued watching TV.

"Taking a break," Spencer replied. "I mean I'm really not all that worried about the test anyways. I'll go over my notes again later."

"I'm sure you're going to ace it no matter how much you do or don't study," Alex laughed. "You are a genius after all."

"Yeah, whatev…" Spencer began, cut off as a news broadcast interrupted their program, both teen's attention now on the television.

"We're here in Alexandria, Virginia, where three young girls have gone missing in the last month," the newscaster explained, as Alex and Spencer shared a look, neither teen moving to change the channel. "Two teens Andrea Carson and Teagan Dekker, were both missing for several days before they were found stabbed to death, and just yesterday another teen; 15 year old Cameron Cruise went missing on her way home from school. Though she has only been missing for just 24 hours, it's believed that authorities have found the young girl's body in this area just behind me, though we are still waiting for confirmation."

"Oh my God," Alex whispered, as Cameron Cruise's school picture appeared on the corner of the screen.

"Maybe it's not…" Spencer began as they watched a black SUV pulled up not far from where the reporter was standing. "Is that?"

"My mom," Alex finished, seeing Emily step out of the passenger's side of the car, while Morgan exited the driver's side. "It's her," Alex said, not needing the confirmation to know that it would be Cameron Cruise they found. " It's that girl. She's dead."

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**I know a lot of you wanted me to save Cameron Cruise, but this was the intention all along, and it's kind of necessary for my next chapter, which I will try to get to you as soon as possible! Thanks for Reading! -J**


	7. Chapter 7

**HELLO! I have been working on this chapter for a few days and I really hope you guys enjoy it! I'm hoping that you're not getting bored of this story yet (I promise the excitement is coming!). Thanks so much for sticking with me! -J**

**Chapter 7**

When they had gotten word that a body had been found the whole team had felt instantly disappointed, even though they had known this could happen given Cameron's shy personality and the unsub's hastiness in taking her. Hotch had immediately sent Morgan and Emily to the scene to ensure they were given a correct identification before informing the young girl's mother. As Morgan drove them towards the dump site, Emily had fallen quiet, her mind reeling as she prepared herself for what she might have to see; as she thought about having to tell Meghan Cruise her only child was dead.

"Are you okay?" Morgan finally asked when the silence had become too much.

"I don't know," Emily shrugged honestly. "I mean nothing about this is okay Derek. They're just kids…just little girls….they shouldn't have to…their parents shouldn't have to…"

"I know," Morgan nodded. "You're right they shouldn't," he agreed, understanding what the brunette was trying to say even though she was struggling to say it. "But are you going to be okay?"

"Eventually," Emily replied, figuring she might as well stick to being truthful. "I just really need us to catch this guy."

"Me too," Morgan agreed. "And we will," he assured her. "Don't doubt that. And you know…I can do the identification if you want. I mean there's no reason you should have to do…"

"I can do my job Morgan," Emily cut him off, flinching as she immediately regretted the snap. "I'm sorry…I just…I have to know I can do my job."

"Okay," Morgan nodded. "But if you change your mind…"

"I'll let you know," Emily replied with a small smile.

The rest of the drive, though short, was spent in silence, both surprised when they pulled up to the site and it was already surrounded by reporters.

"How did they all find out so quickly?" Emily asked irritably as Morgan put the vehicle in park.

"They have their ways," Morgan replied, shaking his head. "Let's hope Cameron's mom isn't watching TV," he said, not wanting the single mother to find out about her daughter this way. "You got your 'no comment' face ready Princess?"

"Always," Emily replied as both Agents got out of the car, neither paying any attention to the questions that were immediately shouted at them.

As they made their way over to where the officers were waiting next to a covered body, Emily felt like her feet were getting heavier, not wanting to see the girl she knew would be lying underneath the blanket.

"It's…." One of the officers began, shaking his head solemnly. "It's awful," he said. "I really hope you guys get this bastard. Poor girl," he said, moving aside to allow the agents to see the body, not wanting to see it again himself.

Bending down beside the body, Morgan braced himself for a moment, taking a deep breath before pulling the blanket back, revealing the young, dark-haired girl whom, until now, he had only seen in pictures.

"That's definitely her," Morgan said somberly. "That's Cameron," he said, looking up to see Emily staring at the teen with wide, emotional eyes; her face paler than usual. "Have you guys found anything else?" He asked as he replaced the blanket, giving his partner a moment to compose herself, while he talked to the officers.

"Not yet, but we've got our people searching the area," one of the officers replied. "We'll let you know as soon as we find anything useful."

"Thank you," Morgan replied, looking back to Emily to see she still appeared to be frozen in place. "You okay Princess?"

"Yeah," Emily replied, shaking her head as if to clear it of the thoughts currently swirling around. "We…uh we should be the ones to tell her mother," she said quietly.

"I'll call Hotch and let him know," Morgan nodded. "He can send Reid and Rossi here if he thinks it's necessary," he said. "Come on, we should get there before she sees it someplace else."

"Yeah…okay," Emily agreed quietly, following Morgan towards the car, her heart heavy as she thought about the news she would have to deliver.

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Hearing that Cameron's body had been found had been like a punch in the gut for JJ, who had been hoping and praying that the young girl still had more time. She had desperately hoped that the team would be able to find the teen in time, not able to handle the thought of another teen losing her life. As Emily and Morgan had left to check out the dumpsite, and to ensure that it was indeed Cameron Cruise who had been found, Hotch had asked JJ to prepare a statement, knowing they would need to hold a press conference once they knew for sure about Cameron. The blonde had immediately set to work, writing out a statement that she had given many times before; one which she always hated. She did her best to keep focused, but every time she thought about the young girl she thought about Alex, which immediately made her feel sick.

"JJ how's it going?" Hotch asked about half an hour later.

"I'm just about finished," JJ replied, trying to shake off the daze she felt like she was in. "Have you heard from Emily and Morgan?"

"Yeah Morgan just called," Hotch nodded. "It's definitely Cameron," he told her, the blonde's stomach dropping even though she already knew this to be true. "They're on their way to the mother's house now. We should hold a press conference in the next hour."

"Yes sir," JJ quickly agreed, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall, partially due to hormones. "I'll start making calls," she said, standing up and hoping to excuse herself to give her a few moments to collect herself as well as quiet so she could make some phone calls.

"JJ wait," Hotch called, stopping the liaison who was already headed for the door. "How are you doing?" He asked quietly, stepping closer so Rossi and Reid wouldn't overhear.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked in confusion.

"JJ I know how much time you spend with Alex, so I know this can't be easy for you," the Unit Chief said. "I just want to make sure you're doing okay considering this case."

"I'm…" JJ paused, considering her response. "I'm dealing. Emily and I both are really. I mean I know it's not Alex…I know she's safe, but it's hard not to look at these girls and see her."

"I get it," Hotch nodded. "Ever since we had Jack, the cases with kids have been harder for me. I mean they're never easy, but it's harder to separate yourself when all you see is the face of your own kid looking back at you."

"I just really want to find this guy," JJ replied determinedly, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"And we will," Hotch replied. "But in the meantime if you need anything….you or Emily, I hope you'll come to me."

"We will," JJ nodded with a small smile, appreciating her boss' concern. "Thanks Hotch."

"Of course," Hotch replied. "Let me know when you're ready for the conference. I'd like to come out with you," he said before returning to where Reid was working as JJ made her way out of the room, feeling slightly better knowing she had her team's support.

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When Meghan Cruise had opened her front door to find Morgan and Emily standing there with grim looks on their faces, she immediately knew why they were there. Overcome with grief, Meghan's legs had given out; Emily just barely catching her before she hit the ground. Supporting the young mother's weight, Emily and Morgan had helped her to the couch, Emily offering as much support as she could, holding Meghan as she continued to sob painfully. As Emily listened to the mother grieve her young daughter, she fought back her own tears, unable to imagine what she must be going through. Wanting to do something for Meghan, Morgan had gone to call her mother, wanting to make sure she would have someone there for her when they were forced to leave.

When Meghan's mother had arrived she took Emily's place on the couch with her daughter, Emily reluctantly pulling away from the distraught woman. It was Morgan who had pointed out that they should get back to the police station; Emily wanting to argue, but knowing her partner was right. If they wanted to catch the man who killed Cameron they needed to get back to work, which was the thought that carried Emily out the door and towards their waiting SUV. It wasn't until they were halfway to the police station that the brunette realized just how exhausted she felt, her emotions beginning to catch up to her, as she felt completely drained.

"Looks like Blondie's feeding the press again," Morgan said when they pulled into the station parking lot, noticing the crowd of reporters surrounding JJ and Hotch who were standing in front of the building.

"They must be finishing up," Emily replied, nodding her head towards the pair as JJ stepped away from the microphone, joining Hotch before they started to head inside. "We should head in," she suggested, both Agents getting out of the car and hastily making their way inside.

"Hey," JJ greeted as she noticed the two Agents coming in behind them, her smile turning into a frown as she noticed just how tired Emily looked. "How'd it go with Mrs. Cruise?"

"Exactly how you'd expect it to," Emily replied tiredly, suddenly unsure of how she was going to make it through another night of work. "She's completely devastated."

"The techs are still searching the dump site for clues, but it's difficult now that it's dark," Hotch explained, chancing a quick glance at Emily, who he could immediately tell was hanging on by a thread emotionally. "There really isn't much more we can do tonight, and I don't want us to run ourselves into the ground. JJ you should get a proper nights rest for that little guy," he said, gesturing towards her stomach. "Why don't you and Prentiss head home," he suggested, noting that Emily didn't move to argue. "I'm going to send everyone else home soon."

"That's probably a good idea," JJ agreed, knowing her boss was making the suggestion more for Emily than herself. "Thanks Hotch."

"Yeah, thanks," Emily said quietly. "You'll call if we find anything though?"

"Of course," Hotch nodded. "Now go get some rest. That's an order."

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JJ knew just how difficult the case had become for Emily, when the brunette handed her the keys on their way to the car some 15 minutes later, simply too tired to make the drive back to their home. Understanding that Emily was doing everything she could to hold herself together, JJ sent a quick text to Alex before beginning their drive home, allowing Emily some quiet time, knowing she would open up when she was ready.

"Jen," Emily practically whispered, when they were almost home; JJ turning her head towards her to acknowledge she heard her. "When we get back…I…I need…"

"Already taken care of," JJ replied, knowing exactly what, or rather, whom, the brunette needed. "I'll go over and get her as soon as we're home."

"Th-thank you ," Emily said emotionally, loving that the blonde knew just what she needed, even before she did.

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"Hi," JJ greeted as soon as Alex opened the Hastings' front door, sighing in relief as the teen immediately stepped into her arms. "God I missed you."

"I missed you too," Alex smiled, hugging the blonde just a little tighter. "Are you okay?"

"I'm tired, but I'm fine," JJ replied, pulling back so she could see the teen.

"Is mom?"

"She's…." JJ began, hesitating as she considering how to best answer that question. "She's having a pretty hard time to be honest."

"Because they look like me?" Alex asked, JJ furrowing her brow in confusion. "The victims," she clarified.

"How…" JJ began. "I'm sorry honey. We should have told you about that," she said. "We just didn't want to freak you out."

"It's okay, I get it," Alex replied with a nod. "Honestly I'm fine with the whole thing. I'm just worried about you guys," she explained. "I mean mom hasn't sounded the greatest the last couple times I talked to her."

"I know hun, but she'll be okay," JJ assured her. "But she could really use you tonight."

"Well then we better get going," Alex said, grabbing her coat and heading outside, having already said her goodbyes to the Hastings.

Happy to be back with the teen, JJ threw an arm around Alex, as they made their way across the street and up the driveway to their own house. Entering the house, they were immediately greeted by Sergio, who came running down the stairs, happy to see both ladies.

"Hey Serg," JJ said, scratching the cat behind his ears when Alex picked him up. "Your mom should be up in your room babe," she then told Alex.

"Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a little bit," JJ replied, leaning forward and placing a kiss on the teen's forehead.

At this Alex put Sergio back down on the ground before running up the stairs, making her way to her own bedroom where she opened the door to find her mother lying in her bed, her back to the door.

"Mom?" Alex called uncertainly, unsure if the older brunette was awake.

"Hi Sweetie," Emily replied quietly, turning over so she could see her daughter. "I missed you," she said, holding open her arm to invite the teen to come lay with her.

Noticing the tired look in her mother's eyes, Alex took off her coat before getting into her bed; Emily immediately wrapping her arms around her, pulling her close with a sigh. Allowing her mother a few minutes to simply enjoy having her daughter in her arms, Alex laid still, her face buried against the taller woman's shoulder, as she rested her chin on her head.

"Are you okay?" Alex eventually whispered as Emily rubbed a hand up and down her back.

"I…no not really," Emily confessed, choking back as sob as her emotions finally got the better of her. "I just…I…" she stuttered, as exhausted tears begin to fall.

"I know," Alex whispered. "It'll be okay. You did everything you could," the teen comforted, understanding why her mother was so broken up. "It's okay."

At this Emily allowed herself to truly cry. She cried for 3 teens whose lives were taken far too early; she cried for the parents who would never get to hug their children again.

"I…I don't know w-what I would do…" Emily cried. "I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't," Alex replied confidently, hugging her mother tighter. "I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me."

"But I do," Emily confessed sadly, not caring that her daughter was the one acting like the parent at the moment.

"I know," Alex nodded against her chest. "But I'm going to be fine. You can't keep working about me. Those girls need you to focus on the case so you can find this guy," she said. "I'll be extra safe I promise. I'm going to be fine."

"I love you so much," Emily replied, pulling back so she could see the teen's face. "So much."

"I know," Alex smiled, wiping a tear off her mother's face. "I love you too," she said, once again tucking her head under her mother's chin as she hugged her close. "You should try to get some rest now," she suggested quietly, feeling Emily beginning to relax in her arms.

"Yeah…okay," Emily agreed sleepily, already feeling exhaustion taking over as she began to drift off, as Alex too let herself relax in her mother's arms.

Ten minutes later JJ walked into the room, smiling at the sight of the two brunettes snuggled up together, both appearing to be fast asleep. Turning off the light and quietly tiptoeing across the room, JJ got into the bed on Alex's other side, snuggling up as close as her belly would let her, and draping an arm over both females.

"I love you both," the blonde whispered, to the sleeping forms.

"We love you too," Alex replied quietly, her voice laced with sleep. "So much."

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**Next chapter will be back to business but I just couldn't resist a little family time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello Lovelies!**

**So working retail in December doesn't really allow for much free time, but I swear I'm using as much of mine to write as I can! I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I will do my best to get you the next one ASAP (most likely going to be a short one).**

**Also I know a lot of you have some expectations of where this story is going, but I'm not really sure you guys are assuming the right things! But I swear I do have something up my sleeve and it will be coming VERY soon!**

**Chapter 8**

Waking up with Alex still wrapped tightly in her arms, Emily felt the part of her, which had been feeling broken all week, coming back together. Though she knew she wouldn't feel 100% better until the team caught the man who was killing those young girls; the brunette knew she would be able to go back to work with her head clear enough to be of use to her team.

Hugging Alex tighter to her, Emily smiled as she looked over the teen's shoulder, to see her girlfriend snuggled up on the other side; loving the fact that the blonde cared so much about her daughter.

"You two are the best parts of my life," Emily whispered to the sleeping duo. "I would be lost without you both,' she said quietly, stroking a hand over her daughter's dark hair, the teen snuggling up closer.

"Mom?" Alex asked sleepily.

"Sorry," Emily whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. Although Jen and I need to be up soon."

"It's okay," Alex yawned, pulling back enough to see her mother's face. "You look better," she smiled.

"I feel better," Emily replied, a smile gracing her face. "I guess I really just needed to see you."

"That's good," Alex grinned. "Because I needed to see you too. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You haven't sounded like yourself on the phone."

"Haven't felt much like myself either," Emily agreed. "But I'm better now. I promise," she said, leaning forward to place a kiss on the teen's head. "I love you, you munchkin," she said making the younger brunette smile.

"I love you too," Alex laughed.

"Could you two keep that mushy talk down," JJ groaned from where she lay beside Alex. "Some of us are trying to sleep here."

"Sorry sleeping beauty," Emily teased. "But we've gotta be up in five minutes anyways."

"Don't wanna," JJ practically whined, throwing an arm over her eyes as Alex giggled beside her. "Wanna sleep."

"Sorry baby, but I don't think you can call in tired," Emily laughed.

"What about pregnant?" JJ asked, still refusing to uncover her eyes. "Can I call in pregnant?"

"You could," Emily replied. "But I think the team needs you this time."

"Oh alright," JJ groaned, turning on her side and grabbing Alex around the waist, pulling her out of Emily's arms and as close as she could given the size of her pregnant belly. "I need a couple minutes of this first though."

"Fine by me," Alex giggled, not at all minding the extra time with her mothers.

"Good," JJ replied, kissing the teen's head and giving Emily a wink, noticing that the older brunette looked much better than she had the day before. "I think this is my favourite place to be."

"Mine too," Emily agreed with a smile. "Most definitely."

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Though they wished they could have stayed in that bed with their daughter all morning long; when Emily and JJ arrived at the Alexandria Police Department, it was with a newfound determination, feeling like their heads were much clearer than they had been the day before.

"You ready to do this Agent Prentiss?" JJ asked as the pair stepped out of the car.

"I think I am Agent Jareau," Emily replied confidently, wanting to keep her head in the case in order to get justice for the three young girls and their families. "It's time we catch this guy."

"I couldn't agree more," JJ nodded, stepping inside as Emily held the door open for her.

As they stepped inside though it was immediately clear that something had happened, as the precinct was abuzz with officers moving around frantically, awaiting or getting orders. Knowing this could mean nothing good, Emily and JJ wordlessly made their way towards the conference room the team had been using, knowing Hotch and the rest of the team were already there.

"What happened?" Emily asked as soon as they reached the team.

"Another girl has been taken," Hotch immediately answered. "Guess the unsub decided he couldn't wait till this afternoon," he explained.

"How could we know this already?" JJ asked in confusion, looking at the time. "Did the school call?"

"No," Rossi replied. "Even better. We've got a witness."

"In his rush he must have gotten careless," Reid said. "Unfortunately we don't know who the girl is yet."

"Morgan, Prentiss," Hotch called. "I want you two to get to the scene. Talk to our witness and call us with everything you find out. The rest of us need to get in contact with the high school in the area and find out who's unaccounted for. We need to find out who this girl is."

"Yes sir," Emily nodded, turning to Morgan who also looked ready to go. "You driving or am I?"

"I got this one," Morgan replied, knowing he could get them there in half the time it would normally take. "We'll call you as soon as we know anything," he told the team, before leading Emily out of the room and out towards the car.

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"Mr. Grey," Emily greeted, holding out her hand as she and Morgan approached the man who must have been in his early fifties. "I'm Agent Prentiss and this is Agent Morgan," she explained. "We're with the FBI's behavioural analysis unit. We were told you witnessed another abduction."

"Yes," the man nodded. "About half an hour ago," he explained. "I tried to stop him but he drove off, so I called it in right away."

"Can you tell us exactly what happened?" Morgan asked.

"Well I was just heading out onto my porch to grab my paper, when I noticed the young girl walking down the street," Mr. Grey began to explain. "She was just headed that way," he said, pointing down the street to the right. "She smiled at me, and I returned it, before turning back around to head back inside, until I heard the dog."

"Dog?" Emily asked in confusion. "What dog?"

"Big golden retriever," Mr. Grey replied. "I heard barking and I turned around to see the thing bounding up the street towards the girl," he explained. "He was friendly, but it appeared he got away from his owner, because there was a guy just up there," he said pointing up the street in the opposite direction the girl had been heading. "I didn't really get a great look at him, he was wearing a hat, and sunglasses, but he was putting something into his van and was calling for the dog. His hands were full so the girl started to lead the dog back. Looked innocent enough, but I kept watching from the door anyways," he continued. "It happened so fast. One minute the girl is bringing the dog back to the guy and then all of a sudden he's grabbing her and throwing her into the car. There just wasn't enough time. I ran out yelling, but he was parked too far. He was already in the car and driving away by the time I reached the end of my driveway, I swear."

"We know that Mr. Grey," Morgan assured the older man. "It isn't your fault. You did everything you could."

"And you did the right thing calling," Emily added. "This really helps us. Now is there anything you can tell us about the van? Colour. Make. Any distinguishing features. A license plate perhaps?"

"I didn't get the license plate, but the van was dark…black," Mr. Grey replied, thinking back to the vehicle. "There was some writing on the side, but I couldn't read what it said."

"Writing?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah," Mr. Grey nodded. "And some sort of picture. It was hard to tell from the angle it was parked but it looked like some sort of animal or something," he said, as both Agents shared a look of understanding. "Is that helpful?"

"I think so," Emily nodded, having a good feeling that they had just gotten the lead they would need to find their guy. "Mr. Grey thank you so much for your help," she then said, shaking the man's hand before handing him her card. "If you think of anything else please contact me personally, and we'll let you know if we have anymore questions."

"Alright," the older man nodded. "And you'll…you'll let me know if you find her?"

"You got it," Morgan agreed, also shaking the man's hand. "I say we head back to the station and talk to the team there," he then said, turning his attention to Emily.

"I agree," Emily nodded. "And I think we have some work for your favourite genius as well."

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Emily and Morgan made it back to the precinct just as quickly as they had gotten to the scene, walking into the conference room to find Reid hanging a picture of another young brunette onto their board.

"You found her?" Emily asked, suddenly forgetting that they had plenty that they needed to tell the team.

"Grace Porter," Reid replied. "We called the school to find that she was the only missing student whose parents hadn't called in to say she wouldn't be in school today," he explained. "We contacted her mother to find out that she had left for school this morning. Her and her husband are in the next room with JJ."

"They must be devastated," Emily said sadly.

"They're pretty distraught," Rossi nodded. "But we feel confident that the unsub made enough mistakes to get us something solid."

"Oh he made plenty of mistakes," Morgan confirmed. "In his rush to grab Grace he didn't hide his vehicle and he completely ignored the fact that he was being watched."

"So what did you find out?" Hotch asked, sounding slightly impatient; anxious to get out and save this girl.

"Well we were right about him using a ruse," Morgan continued. "Our witness said a dog came bounding up the road excitedly towards Grace. Grace of course grabbed the dog to find that it's owner; our unsub, was struggling with his hands full trying to put things into his van."

"So Grace brought the dog back to him," Rossi guessed, finally understanding how this guy got close enough to the girls without anyone noticing.

"Yep," Morgan nodded. "And when her guard was down and he saw an opportunity the guy grabbed her and threw her into the van," he explained.

"Do we have anything on the van?" Hotch asked.

"Black, with some sort of writing on the side," Emily replied. "And our witness said from where he was standing it looked like there was a picture of what looked like an animal on the side."

"Could be from a shelter," Reid quickly suggested. "Sometimes you see the vans out picking up strays that have been called in."

"That's what we thought too," Emily agreed. "We already called Garcia on the way here to have her see what she could find. She should be getting back to us soon," she explained just as Morgan's phone began to ring.

"Speaking of which," he said, hitting the button to reply. "Baby Girl tell me you found something for us," he said as a greeting.

"Oh I've got something," Garcia replied enthusiastically. "But I need a little more to narrow it down," she explained. "I did what you said and searched animal shelters or any places in the area associated with animals that use vans and I came up with two local shelters that have vans that look like the one you described, and I emailed you those photos," she continued, as Hotch immediately pulled up the email and showed the photos to the rest of the team.

"Either one of those could be the van Mr. Grey was talking about," Emily said disappointedly. "We need more."

"I know," Garcia agreed. "So tell me what to do. How do I narrow this down?"

"Garcia are you able to bring up lists of employees?" Reid asked.

"Can I bring up a list of employees," Garcia mumbled, sounding slightly offended. "In my sleep Reid. What do you want me to do with the lists?"

"We're looking for a man, most likely in his late thirties, or early forties," Rossi said, the sound of Garcia's typing immediately coming through the phone.

"I need more," the analyst called. "What else?"

"Mr. Grey said the dog ran straight for Grace," Emily said. "It must be well trained so it has to be our unsub's," she said. "He'd have to register the dog right?" She asked as Morgan nodded.

"Baby Girl do any of the employees own Golden Retrievers?"

"Ummmm," Garcia said, typing furiously. "Oh! There's…three…dang," she grumbled.

"Garcia he would need to live somewhere remote," Reid said. "He's torturing these girls, he wouldn't risk being heard. It's probably a large property and it's likely somewhere in the middle of his hunting ground."

"Okay," Garcia replied, as she entered these new parameters into her system, falling silent as she searched through the information that came up. "Oh I've got one with a place that could definitely work," she said, continuing to type. "And…oh wow."

"What is it Garcia?" Hotch asked, knowing the analyst must have found something.

"Isaac Parrilla," Garcia replied, sending through a picture of the man. "Recently lost what appears to be a pretty nasty custody battle with his ex, when his 15-year-old daughter ultimately told the court that she wanted to live with her mother and not her father," she explained. "She and her mother moved to California at the end of last month."

"Which, triggered him to start killing," Emily sighed, biting her lip. "Garcia, the girl. Is she a brunette? Brown eyes?"

"Just like our victims," Garcia confirmed sadly, sending the team a photo.

"Garcia send us the address," Hotch ordered. "We need to get over there. Parrilla is devolving, Grace might not have much time."

"Address is sent to your phones," Garcia replied. "Be safe my loves."

"Thanks Baby Girl," Morgan replied before hanging up. "I'll drive."


	9. Chapter 9

**So this one is a little bit shorter than normal because originally I was going to include it in the last chapter, but didn't want that chapter to drag on too long! I really hope you guys like it! I'm really looking forward to hearing what you think, and I really can't wait to start the next chapter! ****J**

**Thanks for reading! -J**

**Chapter 9**

Isaac Parrilla knew he messed up. He was usually so careful. He took his time, thought things out and made sure that he wasn't caught, but today was different. In his haste to get another girl; to teach the girl a lesson, he had forgotten himself. He didn't take his time; he didn't hide his car and he had allowed himself to be seen. Isaac couldn't be positive just how much the man down the street had seen, but he had a feeling it was enough to get him into some serious trouble.

But even though Isaac knew all this, he took the girl home anyways. He should have let her go; should have gotten rid of her like the rest, but he couldn't. He had to teach her a lesson first; had to make sure that she learned how to respect her father. He knew he would have to be fast, like the last one. He wouldn't be able to take the time that he normally would, but that was okay, he just needed a couple hours; that would do it.

So as Isaac pulled onto his property, he drove his van down the long driveway, immediately pulling up in front of the back shed and looking into the back of the van to see that the girl was still passed out from the chloroform he had used on her earlier. Getting out of the vehicle, Isaac went around to the back, tying the girl's hands and feet together before carrying her into the shed, leaving her on the floor, before locking her in. He didn't have a lot of time, so he quickly moved his van into his garage before running inside to get something he needed for his lesson.

He always used a knife. He liked to take his time with the girls; make sure the lesson really sunk in, but since he didn't know how much time he would have he ran into the main house to grab his gun, stuffing it in the back of his pants just in case. He would try to take his time, but if he had to end it quickly, he was ready.

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"They know who took her? They found him?" Grace Porter's mother, Stephanie asked JJ shortly after the liaison had explained that the team was pursuing a suspect.

"We can't be positive until they get there, but based on our witness' account and our profile they're pretty certain they've found the man that took your daughter," JJ explained, silently praying that the team had indeed found the right man. "They'll call us as soon as they know anything. You should both sit," she said, gesturing towards the couch.

"He hasn't had her very long," Allan Porter pointed out. "She'll be okay right? They're gonna get there in time?"

"We really hope so," JJ replied, wishing she could give the parents a more definitive answer. "Right now the best thing we can do is pray and believe that everything is going to turn out okay," she said. "So please, sit. I'm going to stay here with you the whole time. As soon as they call you'll know," she told the pacing parents, who reluctantly took seats on the couch across from the blonde.

Knowing there was very little she could say to put the parents at ease, JJ fell silent, watching as the couple sat together, with hands clasped, both anxiously watching JJ's cell phone, which lay on the table between them.

"Is this your first?" Stephanie eventually asked, breaking the torturous silence that filled the room.

"Oh uh technically," JJ replied, placing a hand on her belly. "I have a stepdaughter who's 14, but this little guy will be my first, although Alexandra feels like she's my own," she admitted with a smile.

"I bet you're a great mother," Stephanie smiled, seeing the complete adoration on the blonde's face as she thought about both her children.

"Thank you," JJ replied, seeing a pained expression flash across the mother's face. "Grace is going to be okay," she said, even though she knew she couldn't guarantee that. "I truly believe that. So don't doubt it okay? My team is good at what they do. They're going to bring her back safe."

"I hope you're right," Stephanie replied, squeezing her husband's hand tighter as a tear slipped down her cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Don't even let yourself go there okay?" JJ said shaking her head. "You're not going to lose her. I need you to believe that."

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After filling JJ in on what was going on and letting her know the plan, the rest of the team rushed out to their waiting SUVs, splitting up into two of the vehicles and immediately using their phones so they could communicate as they drove to Parrilla's house.

"From the satellite pictures Garcia sent us it looks like Parrilla has a rather large property," Reid pointed out from where he sat in the back seat of Hotch's SUV, Rossi in the passenger's seat. "There's the house as well as a barn and it looks like some sort of storage shed as well. Plus there are woods outlining the property. He could be hiding Grace anywhere."

"What's the plan when we get there Hotch?" Morgan asked over the phone, driving the other SUV with Emily beside him.

"Rossi, Reid and I will take the main house," Hotch replied. "From the plans Garcia found there's three levels so we'll need to span out and ensure he's not keeping the girl anywhere in there," he explained. "Morgan, you and Prentiss take the other two buildings. Start with the barn and then check out the shed. Do a quiet entry and stick together."

"Shouldn't we wait for Swat?" Emily asked worriedly.

"They're still another half hour out," Hotch replied. "Grace might not have that much time, we've gotta move now."

"Put your vests on and keep your heads up," Rossi added. "And stick together. We need to bring this girl home."

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The team had left their vehicles out in front of Parrilla's house, not wanting to alert the man to their presence. They all stood just outside the property, pulling on their vests and checking their guns as they quietly prepared themselves for what they were about to do. As Hotch gave a slight nod, indicating that it was time to move, Emily briefly thought of her own daughter, praying that she would be able to save this young girl for her parents who needed her as much as she needed Alex. Hoping her day would end happily, Emily followed behind Morgan, both with their guns out as they headed out towards the property's barn, while Rossi, Reid and Hotch made their way towards the house.

"Keep an eye out for any movement or sound," Hotch's voice came through the brunette's earpiece. "Remember he thinks he's alone out here, it's unlikely that he'll try to keep Grace quiet. Stay alert," he said as he made his way to the back of the house, so Rossi and Reid could enter through the front.

"Alright, barn first then we'll check out the shed," Morgan reminded Emily as they continued towards their destination, both scanning the area. "It looks like there's an entrance at the back as well as the front," he pointed out, as they got closer. "I'll go around that way and you take the front, that way if he tries to run I can cut him off."

"Hotch said we need to stay together," Emily replied, suddenly feeling anxious as a bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

"We will be," Morgan said. "We just can't risk losing this guy. We've gotta cover the back," he repeated. "Give me 60 seconds to get back there and then we'll enter together alright?"

"Okay," Emily reluctantly agreed. "60 seconds," she said, watching as Morgan already began to creep around the old barn.

Her senses still on high alert, Emily continued to scan the property, waiting for Morgan to give her the go ahead, while also listening for any signs of Grace Porter. Glancing at her watch, Emily suddenly heard a noise, coming from somewhere to her right, taking note of the shed, which stood that way.

"Morgan did you hear that?" Emily asked, waiting for an answer, but receiving only silence. "Morgan?" She repeated, suddenly realizing she could no longer hear the rest of her teammates in her earpiece either. "Shit," she muttered, just as she heard another sound, coming from the shed. "Dammit," she said under her breath, briefly considering her options, before making her way towards the shed.

Careful not to make a sound, Emily slowly, and quietly approached the door to the shed, listening carefully, before gently pushing it forward. Entering with her gun first, Emily quickly scanned the relatively small shed, seeing no movement, looking down when she heard a muffled noise, her eyes falling on Grace Porter, whose mouth was covered with duct tape, her arms and legs, which were covered in cuts, taped together to prevent her from running.

"Grace," Emily gasped, putting her gun in her holster and dropping to the ground beside the teen. "It's okay. You're okay," she hushed the young girl. "I'm going to take this tape off. It might hurt," she said, receiving a teary nod from the teen. "One, two, three," she counted before yanking off the silver tape.

"You have to help me," Grace immediately sobbed, her head falling against Emily's shoulder. "He's gonna kill me."

"You're safe now," Emily assured her. "But where is Parrilla? Where did he go Grace?"

"I don't know," Grace sobbed, her whole body shaking against Emily. "H-he was cutting me and then we heard something….he taped my mouth and left."

"Okay, we need to get you out of here," Emily said, knowing they were still at risk of Parrilla returning. "It'll be okay," she said, reaching to begin untying the bonds that were holding the teen's hands together, not hearing anyone entering the shed behind her.

"Get away from her," Isaac Parrilla's steely, calm voice sounded from behind her as he cocked his gun against her head. "Stand up slowly, and don't even think of moving for your gun," he instructed as Emily raised her hands, and carefully began to stand, Isaac eventually taking her gun off her hip. "Good. Now turn around and step away from her."

"Okay," Emily said calmly, turning to face the older man, and taking a step towards him, keeping herself in front of Grace, while successfully getting Isaac to step away. "You don't have to do this," she said, her hands still up in the air. "Just let Grace go."

"No, I can't," Isaac quickly replied sounding agitated. "She hasn't learned her lesson yet. She needs to learn."

"Isaac she didn't do anything," Emily said, taking another step forward as Isaac took another step back. "I know your daughter hurt you when she left Isaac, but this girl isn't your daughter. Grace didn't do anything. You need to let her go."

"No, no, they're all the same," Isaac shook his head. "She's just the same as my Maggie. She needs to learn."

"Please…." Grace sobbed from behind Emily. "Please I've learned my lesson," she cried. "I just want to go home…please."

"Liar!" Isaac shouted, moving to the side so his gun was now trained on the teen instead of Emily. "They always lie! She said she loved me, but she didn't love me. She just left me."

"No that's not true," Emily quickly assured him, knowing she needed to do something fast, silently hoping her team was headed their way. "Your daughter loves you, but she had to make an impossible choice," she said. "So why don't you let Grace go and we can leave here. You can go see Maggie."

"Yeah because they're really going to let me see her now," Isaac replied sarcastically, shaking his head. "I'm not stupid Agent. I'm not going to be seeing my daughter again, and I can't do much about that," he said. "But I can do something about her."

"Please don't," Grace sobbed in fear.

"Isaac," Emily tried, the man's attention solely focused on the teen.

"I have to," Isaac shouted. "I have to."

"No you don't," Emily yelled, as the man's stood, with his gun shaking in front of him, still trained on the younger brunette, turning his head slightly towards Emily. "You don't have to do this," she repeated.

"Yes," he nodded," turning back to face the teen. "I really do."

"No!" Emily yelled, jumping out in front of Grace, just as the shot rang out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my lovelies!**

**I know you all hated that I left you with a cliffhanger so I wrote this chapter as fast as I could, and I really hope that you guys like it! More to come as soon as I can! **

**You guys rock! -J**

**Chapter 10**

"Okay everyone continue reading on your own for a moment," Alex's third period teacher told her class when the classroom phone began to ring early on in their lesson that day.

Yawning slightly, Alex continued reading from her text book, feeling a little dazed as her eyes scanned over the words without really reading them as she struggled to focus. Her eyes on her book, the teen missed the worried glance her teacher threw her way before turning to face the wall, not wanting any of the other students to overhear.

"Alexandra," the teacher called after hanging up the phone, the young brunette lifting her head indicating she was listening. "They would like you down at the office," she said. "Bring your things."

"Oh…okay," Alex replied, sharing a confused look with Spencer, who sat next to her, before gathering up her things with a shrug.

Unsure of what she could have possibly done to warrant a trip to the office, Alex slowly made her way down the hallway, wracking her brain for anything she may have done in the last couple days to get herself into trouble. Lost in thought, it wasn't until a flash of bright clothing caught her eye that she realized she had arrived at her destination; immediately stopping in her tracks.

"Penelope?" Alex called, her stomach giving an anxious flip at the sight of her mother's coworker.

"Lex," Garcia replied, turning around to face the teen with a worried look on her face.

"What…who?" Alex asked, her shoulders slumping sadly, knowing that the tech analyst's presence could only mean one thing. "Who?" She repeated, trying to keep her voice even.

"It's your mom sweetie," Garcia replied, the teen's eyes immediately filling with tears, which she refused to let fall. "She's okay, but she's at the hospital."

"What happened?" Alex asked, holding back her tears.

"She uh…she got shot," Garcia replied, unable to lie to the teen, even though she hated to be the one to tell her. "But I swear she's going to be fine. It just hit her shoul…" She explained, stopping in surprise when Alex simply walked past her, headed for the main doors to the school. "Lex?"

"We have to go,' Alex insisted firmly, having heard nothing except the fact that her mother had been shot.

"Lex," Garcia repeated, wanting to remind the teen that she wasn't even wearing her jacket.

"Penelope, we have to go," Alex said, turning around to face the blonde, with big, worried eyes. "Please."

"Let's go," Garcia quickly, replied both seeing and hearing the teen's begging, wrapping an arm around Alex to protect her from the cold, silently wishing she could protect her from much more than that.

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"What do you mean you haven't found him Morgan?" JJ asked sounding irritated as she paced back in forth through the hospital waiting room, not caring that she was eliciting stares from the other people seated there. "He can't have just disappeared."

"Jayje, he bolted through the back of the shed right after he shot Em," Morgan replied through the phone. "I only stopped for a second to make sure she was okay, but when I got out back I couldn't see him anywhere. This property is huge, and it's surrounded by woods that I'm sure he knows like the back of his hand. We're looking everywhere and we will find him, but it might take some time," he explained. "How is she?" He asked, the guilt clearly evident in his voice.

"In surgery," JJ replied, pinching the bridge of her nose as she attempted to fight back the tears that had been threatening to fall since she had gotten the call from Morgan about Emily. "You know I really don't understand what happened. Why was Emily even alone? I thought you guys were supposed to be sticking together?"

"JJ I swear I thought Em was at the barn with me," Morgan replied sadly. "She was supposed to give me 60 seconds and then we were both going in, but she wasn't replying and then when I went in she wasn't there," he explained. "I was already heading to the shed when I heard the shot. But she's gonna be okay Jayje, I mean she was fine when I got there."

"She got shot Morgan," JJ replied, unable to control her snapping tone. "She had passed out before she got here from blood loss and she's in surgery. How is that okay?" She asked. "Not to mention how freaked out Alex is going to be. God knows that kid has been through enough."

"JJ I'm so sorry."

"I…" JJ began, not even sure what to say.

"JJ?" The blonde then heard from across the waiting room, looking up to find Alex standing with Garcia's arm wrapped firmly around her.

"Morgan I have to go, Alex is here," JJ explained, knowing she was being unfair to Morgan, but not having the energy to comfort him at the moment. "Find him Derek."

"We will Jayje," Morgan replied sadly. "We will."

"Lex," JJ called as soon as she hung up the phone, the teen immediately running and falling straight into the blonde's open arms. "It's okay," she whispered, kissing the brunette's head as she felt tears begin to hit her shoulder.

"Is…is s-she okay?" Alex asked tearfully, hugging JJ as tight as she could.

"She's going to be fine," JJ assured her, rubbing a comforting hand up and down the teen's back. "She got hit in the shoulder. Bullet just managed to miss her vest, so she's in surgery," she explained. "She'll probably be in a sling and she'll be out of work for a little bit, but she's going to be fine."

"Did you see her?"

"Just as they wheeled her in," JJ replied, leaning back so she could see the teen's face. "She had lost quite a bit of blood so she wasn't conscious, but she was okay. It's going to be okay," she repeated as tears continued to fall down the young brunette's cheeks. "Come on, let's sit down okay?" She said, leading the teen towards the empty chairs where she had left her purse, as Garcia silently followed. "Thanks for picking her up Pen."

"Anytime Jayje," Garcia replied, taking a seat on Alex's other side and placing a comforting hand on her leg as JJ wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulders.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Alex asked, resting her head on JJ's shoulder and wiping away the tears that continued to fall despite JJ's reassurances that her mother was okay.

"They're still at the scene, finishing up with a few things," JJ replied, not wanting to freak Alex out by telling her that they were still looking for the man that shot her mother. "They'll be here as soon as they can get away."

"Oh okay," Alex said, taking Penelope's hand from her knee and holding it in hers, while JJ placed another kiss against her temple. "How long will the surgery take?"

"I'm not sure sweetie."

"But she'll be okay?" Alex asked, her worry obvious.

"She's going to be just fine baby," JJ quickly assured her, putting away her own worry in order to comfort the teen. "She's going to be fine."

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Waiting had never been one of JJ's strengths. The longer she sat in the waiting room, waiting for someone to come tell her about Emily the more impatient she became; her leg beginning to bounce up and down while she continued to stroke her fingers through Alex's long hair.

Wanting to do something useful, and insisting that JJ needed to keep the baby fed, Garcia had gone off in search of snacks, promising she would search all the vending machines until she found a bag of Cheetos. The rest of the team had yet to arrive, something, which made JJ feel more anxious, knowing that they must still be searching for Isaac Parrilla if they weren't there.

"Jennifer?" Alex called softly, pulling the blonde from her thoughts as she turned to find the teen watching her with wide eyes that were so much like her mother's.

"Yeah Sweetie?"

"What…what would happen if…what if…I mean…" the teen stuttered, struggling to voice her worries. "What if she…"

"Hey," JJ stopped her, understanding what had the teen so anxious. "Lex that's not going to happen," she told her certainly. "Your mom is going to be fine. We're not gonna lose her."

"But what if we did?" Alex asked worriedly. "I mean not today, but a different day. Your job is dangerous. What…what would happen to me?" She asked, as a lone tear made it's way down her cheek, having been thinking about this the entire time they had been waiting.

"Oh honey," JJ replied, wiping away the tear with her thumb. "If you think I would ever let anyone take you away from me you're crazy," she said with a small smile, which Alex attempted to return, before once again resting her head against the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm scared," Alex confessed quietly, as JJ pressed a kiss to her head.

"I know," JJ replied, reaching out and taking the teen's hand. "But you don't need to be. Everything's going to be okay.'

At this the pair fell silent, both taking comfort in each other's presence, as they continued waiting, wishing that time would speed up so they could at least hear that Emily was okay. It was a few minutes later though that a shadow fell across the pair, both looking up to find Stephanie Porter standing in front of them.

"Agent Jareau," Stephanie greeted, looking slightly unsure of herself. "Sorry to bother you."

"Oh no, that's fine," JJ insisted, shaking her head as she stood up. "How's Grace?"

"She's okay," Stephanie replied with a small smile. "I mean she's a little beat up, and she needed some stitches, but thanks to you guys, she's going to be okay," she explained. "I just really wanted to come and thank you."

"Of course," JJ smiled.

"How is Agent Prentiss?" Stephanie then asked.

"She's still in surgery, but she's going to be fine," JJ replied, glancing at Alex, who was still seated, watching the interaction between the two women.

"I know Grace would really like to thank her, when she's up to visitors," Stephanie said, grateful for the woman who had jumped in front of her daughter to prevent her from being shot.

"I'm sure Emily would love to see her," JJ smiled, proud of Emily's actions despite the fear she currently felt.

"Is this your stepdaughter?" Stephanie then asked, gesturing towards Alex who was still watching them.

"Yes, this is Alex," JJ replied, turning towards Alex who smiled at the fact that the blonde had referred to her as her stepdaughter. "Alex is actually…Agent Prentiss…Emily is Alex's mother," she explained.

"Oh," Stephanie replied in understanding, smiling at the blonde before turning her attention to the teen. "Your mother is a hero Alex. She saved my daughter's life," she said. "You should be very proud."

"I am," Alex replied with a small smile. "I'm proud of both of them," she added, making JJ smile.

"Well I will give you two some privacy, but I'll check in with you later," Stephanie then said. "Thank you again Agent Jareau."

"Of course," JJ nodded. "Thank you Stephanie," she said, before retaking her seat next to Alex, immediately wrapping an arm around her. "I love you kid," she whispered, once again kissing her head.

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"Hey look who I found while I was searching for Cheetos," Garcia announced when she finally returned, followed closely by the rest of the team, who immediately moved to greet Alex, who was pulled into a firm hug by Morgan, who was still feeling guilty.

"Has there been any word yet?" Rossi asked, pulling JJ into a hug.

"Not yet, but it can't be much longer now," JJ replied, glancing over to see that Alex was distracted, talking to Reid and Penelope. "How'd it go at the scene? You guys found him right?"

"We found tire tracks leading out from the middle of the woods," Hotch replied quietly, not wanting Alex to overhear. "He must have had a vehicle stashed out there for a quick get away."

"JJ I'm so sorry," Morgan once again apologized, knowing the blonde was understandably upset with him for having separated with Emily in the first place.

"I know," JJ sighed, shaking her head in frustration, knowing it wasn't the team's fault, but unable to prevent herself from being angry with them.

"The locals are still looking, and Garcia's going to do some searches as soon as we hear about Emily," Hotch assured the blonde. "We will find him."

"Right, of course," JJ replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, coming over to stand next to the blonde, seeing that she looked upset.

"Nothing Sweetie," JJ insisted, putting an arm around Alex just as a man in blue scrubs made his way into the area, turning his attention to the gathered group.

"Emily Prentiss?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello friends!**

**Sorry this update took me a little longer! Been writing a little bit each day, but unfortunately I've also been working lots! Hope you enjoy this!**

**-J**

**P.S The part written in italics is a dream (just incase that isn't clear).**

**Chapter 11**

_The sun was bright; too bright. It stung Emily's eyes as she squinted, trying to get a good look at her surroundings. It was warm and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Noises; birds chirping, children laughing, dogs barking and parents calling out surrounded her._

_"Mommy can we play on the swings?" An excited little brunette asked from next to her, Emily looking down to see her daughter, only five years old. "I wanna swing!"_

_"Sure munchkin," Emily replied with a smile. "Whatever you want."_

_"Mommy I'm not a munchkin! I'm Alex!" The five year old replied, placing her hands on her hips, a pout on her face._

_"Oh you are, are you?" Emily said, bending down and lifting the small brunette into her arms. "I'm sorry I must be confused, because I thought you were a little munchkin," she teased, kissing the giggling girl's face and tickling her. "Now come on let's go swing."_

_"Yay!" Alex exclaimed, still giggling as her mother carried her towards the swing sets, placing kisses on her face the whole way. "I wanna swing real high mommy," she said as Emily sat her on a swing. "I wanna touch the clouds!"_

_"The clouds huh?" Emily asked with a smile. "Well we'll just have to see what we can do," she said as she made her way behind her daughter, pulling the swing back to give her a big push._

_"Higher mommy, higher," Alex yelled as Emily continued to push her, laughing happily._

_"Oh I think you're almost there baby," Emily played along, laughing at the child's glee. "Just a little higher," she called, giving the swing another push._

_"I almost touched it,' Alex shouted, pointing out her toes as high as she could. "Did you see mommy?"_

_"I saw baby," Emily laughed, loving the child's imagination._

_"Oh wait mommy, stop me, stop me," Alex suddenly yelled, Emily immediately grabbing a hold of the swing in order to stop it._

_"Honey what…"_

_"Mama!" Alex practically screamed, jumping off the swing and running in the direction of the blonde heading their way, who immediately bent down in order to catch the little girl in her arms, before lifting her up onto her hip._

_"Hey little one, you having fun with Mommy?" JJ asked as she made her way back towards Emily who stood at the swing with a smile on her face._

_"The most fun," Alex replied enthusiastically. "But we missed you," she said._

_"Oh you did huh?" JJ asked, placing a kiss on the little girl's nose just as she reached the older brunette._

_"We definitely did," Emily agreed with a smile, leaning forward to give the blonde a kiss. "Hi," she smiled when they pulled apart._

_"Hi yourself," JJ smiled as she leant forward for another kiss._

_"Hey no more kissing," Alex interrupted, sticking her hand out between her mothers. "It's time to play!"_

_"Okay! It's time to play," JJ agreed, ticking the little girl's stomach before placing her back on the ground. "Come on I'll race you to the slide," she said before immediately breaking into a run in the direction of the playground._

_"Hey no fair!" Alex called; following the blonde as quickly as her little legs would allow her._

_Laughing, Emily watched the interaction with a smile on her face as the tiny brunette caught up to her Mama, hugging her legs before they both headed towards the slide. Seeing her two girls she felt like the luckiest woman alive, with an amazing daughter and a woman who she was completely in love with._

_"Mommy come on!" Alex called from the slide, interrupting the older brunette's daydreams. "Mommy!" She called again, just as everything went black._

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Alex didn't hear much of what the doctor had to say after the words successful, and awake soon, spacing out as he continued talking to JJ, explaining Emily's recovery time and what they would need to do to ensure her shoulder healed. Feeling both relieved, and still nervous, the teen didn't hear anything else until the group was told that only two people could go see Emily; JJ immediately grabbing her hand, while the team sent their love before retaking their seats, where they would wait until they could see their teammate themselves. Gripping JJ's hand tightly, Alex let the blonde lead her towards her mother's room, both walking faster than they normally would.

"You ready?" JJ asked when they reached the door, both pausing outside it.

"I….yeah," the teen answered unsurely, slightly nervous about seeing her mother.

Squeezing Alex's hand because she could feel the teen shaking beside her, JJ eventually pushed the door open, her eyes immediately stinging with tears at seeing Emily laying in the hospital bed. Hearing Alex's breath catch beside her, JJ released her hand in order to put her arm around her, pulling her close.

"You okay?" JJ asked, rubbing her hand up and down the teen's arm.

"Y-yeah," Alex whispered, quickly wiping away a tear, which managed to escape. "She just…she looks…"

"I know," JJ nodded. "I hate seeing her hurt. She's always so tough, it's hard to see her like this."

"Yeah," Alex agreed quietly, wandering towards the bed and taking a seat at Emily's side. "Can…can I hold her hand?" She asked uncertainly.

"Of course," JJ smiled, taking a seat on Emily's other side, watching as Alex took her mother's hand before taking the other one and holding it in both of hers. "The doctor said she should be awake in about an hour or so. Once all the drugs wear off."

"Okay," Alex nodded, her attention solely on her mother; watching her face for any change as she rubbed circles on the back of her hand.

"She's okay," JJ reminded her, seeing the worry etched on the young brunette's face as she began chewing her lip in a very Emily way.

"I know," Alex sighed sadly. "I just want her to wake up. I need her to wake up."

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"Can I ask you something?" Alex asked JJ a little while later, the pair still seated on either side of Emily, who was still unconscious.

"Of course," JJ replied, stroking her thumb up and down over the back of Emily's hand.

"What happened today?" The teen asked, a worried expression on her face. "I mean things seemed a little tense with the team. Are you mad at them or something?"

"I…" JJ sighed, unsure of how to even answer that question. "The team didn't wait for backup today," she said instead. "There wasn't enough time so they went to the unsub's property on their own, and they were supposed to stick together. No one was supposed to go off on their own, but Morgan separated from Emily, and then this happened."

"So you're mad at him?"

"I'm…I don't know what I am," JJ admitted. "I'm just…I was scared and I guess I took that out on him."

"You know I don't know what goes on while you guys are at work, but I get the impression that my mom isn't really someone who's going to sit back and wait for backup when someone's in trouble. Especially someone so young," Alex said. "I think regardless of what happened today, if she thought she could save that girl, she would have went off on her own to do it. That's just who she is," she reminded the blonde. "She wouldn't want you to be mad at the team because of this."

"I know you're right," JJ sighed once again. "I was just so scared when I got that call and I guess I took that out on them. Especially Morgan," she said. "I'll apologize. I just…I just need to see her awake first."

"I know," Alex agreed softly, turning her attention to her mother, watching the brunette's breathing, as she silently willed her to wake up.

Just as the pair fell back into silence the door to the room was opened and a nurse poked her head inside.

"Agent Jareau?" The older woman asked, JJ nodding in reply. "Sorry to bother you, but there are just a few things we need to go over. Is now a bad time?" She asked kindly.

"No now's fine," JJ quickly replied, giving Emily's hand a squeeze before standing from her chair. "Will you be alright on your own for a minute kid?" She asked turning to Alex.

"Yeah that's fine," Alex nodded, watching as JJ followed the nurse out into the hall.

Now alone, Alex focused on her mother, closely watching her face for any sign of a change, as she held her hand tightly in hers.

"Mom?" Alex eventually whispered, leaning close to the bed and bringing Emily's hand up to her lips. "I'm not really sure if you can hear me, but…but if you can I really need you to wake up now okay?" She said, her voice wavering as she tried to hold back the tears that were constantly threatening to fall. "I know that everyone says you're going to be fine; JJ, the doctor, the team, they all say you're okay, but I really need to hear it from you. I just…I need to hear your voice, and I need to hear you laugh, and I need you to give me a hug, because I'm really kind of freaked out right now," she continued, tears now falling. "So please wake up. Please mommy. Please," she said, dropping her head on the bed next to her mother, still clutching her hand, not seeing the older brunette's eyes beginning to flutter open.

"Lex?" Emily's voice rasped, squeezing the teen's hand, Alex lifting her head in disbelief.

"Mom," the teen gasped, her eyes glassy with tears as she found her mother's brown eyes looking back at her.

"W-water," Emily mumbled, her mouth dry.

"O-okay," Alex nodded, quickly getting up and making her way over to the water pitcher that sat in the corner, pouring her mother a glass with shaking hands, before returning to the bed, holding the cup to her mother's mouth so she could drink. "Better?" She asked.

"What…what happened?" Emily asked, still groggy.

"You got shot," Alex replied, her voice cracking as more tears began to fall down her face.

"Oh honey, come here," Emily whispered, holding out her good arm in order to pull the teen towards her. "I'm okay," she assured the teen, as Alex sat down on the bed, burying her face in her mother's uninjured shoulder. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I was so scared," Alex sobbed, her tears soaking her mother's hospital gown.

"I know baby," Emily replied, stroking the teen's hair comfortingly. "I know," she sighed just as the door was opened, JJ walking in and stopping in her tracks, surprised to see the brunette awake. "Jen," Emily called, as JJ's eyes immediately filled with tears of relief.

"Em," JJ replied, smiling through her tears as she quickly made her way over to the bed, pulling the brunette into a kiss. "God you scared me."

"Sorry baby,' Emily apologized, holding her daughter tight as JJ sat down on the edge of the bed on her other side, keeping a hand on her thigh. "I'm so sorry I scared both of you. I love you. Both of you. So so much."

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As soon as was allowed more visitors the team was there, Garcia the first one in the door, heading straight for Emily's bed, immediately wrapping the brunette in a gentle hug.

"I'm glad you're okay Princess," Garcia said. "I understand why you did what you did, but try not to do it again okay? You scared the crap out of me!" She said, before moving to stand with Alex, who was still seated at her mother's bedside.

"Sorry Pen, I'll do my best not to get shot again," Emily laughed, turning her head to find Morgan approaching the bed, a guilty look on his face.

"Em I'm…" Morgan began, immediately cut off by Emily.

"Derek don't even go there," she stopped the apology. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who went off on my own. It was my choice. I could have went in the barn and told you what I heard, but I wasn't thinking clearly," she explained. "So I'm sorry."

"Yeah I'm sorry too Morgan," JJ added, standing behind Alex and playing with the teen's hair. "I'm sorry I took it out on you. I was just scared."

"It's alright JJ," Morgan replied. "I get it," he smiled.

"What happened anyways?" Emily then asked as everyone took seats around her bed. "I mean one minute I could hear you guys in my earpiece and the next thing I know it was complete silence. Did that happen to everyone?"

"It was just yours," Hotch replied. "We're not really sure what happened but it malfunctioned for some reason. At first we just thought you weren't coming through because you found something, but then we realized something was wrong when Morgan kept calling out for you. Unfortunately it was too late by then."

"Jen told me Grace is okay, what happened with Parrilla?" Emily asked, not paying attention enough to see the nervous looks the team shared around the room. "I mean I don't remember much after I got shot, but I do remember he ran. Where did you catch up with him?" She asked, looking to Morgan who suddenly wouldn't meet her eye. "What's going on?" She said, glancing around the room to find that the whole team was suddenly interested in the floor. "Jen?"

"Lex you should really go get something to eat," JJ suggested, not wanting to talk about the case in front of the teen. "Why don't you head down to the cafeteria with Garcia. Get a sandwich or something," she said, looking to her blonde friend who quickly nodded her agreement, understanding the team needed to tell Emily what had happened with Parrilla.

"Come on Lexi, I'll buy you some ice cream," Garcia said, putting an arm around the teen, who looked hesitant to leave.

"Hey it's fine," Emily quickly assured her. "You can come right back. Just go get something to eat."

"O-okay," Alex replied, biting her lip as she allowed Garcia to lead her out of the room.

"What happened?" Emily asked as soon as the door closed behind the pair. "You did get him right?"

"No," Morgan shook his head, looking both frustrated and ashamed. "He got away Em."

"How is that possible?"

"He likely had a vast knowledge of the wood surrounding his property," Reid replied from where he sat near the end of the bed. "He ran out of the shed right after shooting you, and since Morgan had just come in, he had a head start."

"And a car stashed out there," Rossi added.

"He must of ran straight for the vehicle and then got out as soon as he could," Hotch explained. "We put up roadblocks as soon as we realized he was in a car, but he had at least a half an hour to get away."

"We're still looking though Em," Morgan assured her. "We will find him."

"Yeah?" Emily replied. "When? How many more girls is he going to kill before that happens?"

"Chances are he's going to go into hiding," Reid said. "I mean he's likely going to leave the area if he gets the chance."

"What about his daughter?" JJ asked. "Do you think he'll go after her?"

"It's a possibility," Rossi replied. "But we've already contacted his ex-wife. She and her daughter have been taken into protective custody. If he goes anywhere near there, they'll find him."

"And in the meantime Garcia will keep us notified on any like crimes, throughout the country," Hotch added. "If he strikes again, we'll know."

"Somehow that still doesn't feel like enough," Emily sighed disappointedly. "I should have waited for backup."

"Em it's not your fault," JJ said, moving to take the brunette's hand in hers. "You wanted to protect Grace, and you did. You saved her life."

"Yeah but Parrilla is still out there," Emily shook her head. "How is Grace supposed to feel safe when that man is still free?"

"We'll make sure Grace is safe," Rossi assured her. "We can keep her and her family protected until we catch him."

"And we will catch him," Hotch said. "Don't doubt that."


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so so so sorry that this has taken so long! With Christmas and work it has been nearly impossible to find time to write! This story is almost ready to wrap up, but I've still got lots of plans so don't worry!**

**Thanks again for reading! -J**

**Chapter 12**

"You two should go home," Emily said, turning her head tiredly towards JJ and Alex later that evening; the pair still sitting closely beside her.

The team had stayed for over an hour before excusing themselves, Hotch, Rossi and Morgan wanting to return to assist with the search for Isaac Parrilla, while Reid and Garcia would travel to Quantico so Garcia could work her magic on her "babies". Not wanting to be away from the older brunette, both Alex and JJ had remained with Emily, chatting about trivial things, while she attempted to keep herself awake; drowsy from the pain medication.

"What why?" Alex asked in confusion. "The nurse said we could stay as long as we wanted."

"I know, but you two should really go home and get some rest," the brunette insisted. "There's really no reason you should stay here and watch me sleep."

"But…" Both JJ and Alex began to protest, immediately cut off by Emily.

"Jen I can tell you're uncomfortable in that chair," she argued. "You need to sleep in a bed. You can both come back first thing tomorrow. I'll be fine until then," she told them. "Lex, please go with Jen."

"But," Alex repeated, turning her attention to JJ who was fidgeting in her chair quite a bit, obviously uncomfortable. "You'll be okay?"

"I am going to be perfectly fine," Emily replied. "I will probably fall asleep as soon as you leave. And I'm surrounded by doctors," she reminded the teen.

"Okay," the teen relented with a nod. "JJ?"

"You'll call if anything changes?" JJ asked her attention focused on Emily. "If there's any problems at all?"

"I promise," Emily nodded.

"Okay," JJ sighed, hating leaving the brunette, but knowing she was right; she needed to get some rest in a real bed. "We'll go but we will be here first thing tomorrow."

"Of course," Emily smiled. "Now both of you give me a kiss and get out of here before I fall asleep, because I can barely keep my eyes open."

Smiling, Alex stood up, leaning over her mother in order to give her a gentle hug before kissing her on the cheek. "I love you," the teen said, holding onto the older brunette a moment longer. "Don't worry I'll take care of JJ for you."

"That's my girl," Emily smiled. "I love you kid," she said kissing her head. "I'll see you in the morning."

Pulling away, Alex stood at full height, stepping aside so JJ could say her goodbyes, the blonde still looking rather torn about leaving. "I love you," she sighed, bending down so she could give the brunette a kiss.

"I love you too," Emily replied, reaching up her good arm to brush her fingers through the blonde's hair. "Get some rest. And take care of the little guy okay?"

"Okay," JJ replied with a small smile. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Emily smiled, before yawning. "Now go."

"Okay we're going," JJ replied, standing up and turning towards Alex who was waiting at the end of the bed, looking rather anxious. "Come on kid," she said, wrapping her arm around the teen. "Let's go home."

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The drive home was relatively quiet, both JJ and Alex rather exhausted from the days events even though it was only just after 8pm. As JJ pulled into the driveway, Alex let out a rather big yawn, rubbing her eyes tiredly as the blonde put the car in park, and both released their seatbelts. Opening the passenger's side door, Alex climbed out of the car, walking around the car to meet JJ on the other side, just as she heard hurried footsteps coming up the driveway behind her.

"Lex," Spencer Hastings called out, slightly out of breath, obviously having ran there as soon as she saw the car. "Are you okay? What happened? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."

"I left my phone in my locker at school," Alex replied, feeling slightly dazed, having not realized that she hadn't spoken to her friends all day.

"What happened?" Spencer repeated.

"My…my mom got shot," Alex replied, her eyes once again filling with tears, as Spencer immediately moved forward and pulled her friend into her arms.

"Is she okay?" Spencer asked worriedly, looking to JJ for an answer over Alex's shoulder.

"She's fine," JJ assured the teen. "She was hit in the shoulder so she's in a sling but she should be home tomorrow," she explained. "It's just been a really long day," she said nodding her head towards Alex who was still hiding in her friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Lex," Spencer said, rubbing a hand up and down the shorter brunette's back. "Are you okay?"

"I was just so scared," Alex admitted, pulling away to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"I know," Spencer replied, rubbing her friend's arms comfortingly. "We've all been worried about you all day. Logan too. We didn't know what to think. I've been watching your house since I got home and the girls have called me at least 3 times each."

"Will you let them know what happened for me?" Alex asked, not wanting to have to explain her day over again.

"Of course," Spencer nodded understandingly.

"Lex I'm going to head inside," JJ interrupted, the cold beginning to give her a chill. "I'll meet you in there. Take your time."

"Okay," Alex replied, both her and Spencer giving JJ a small wave as she walked inside.

"How's she doing?" Spencer asked, nodding her head towards the blonde's back as she shut the front door behind her.

"Honestly? I don't know," Alex replied shaking her head. "She's been keeping it together all day, but I think that's been for my benefit. I think she's having a harder time than she's willing to admit," she explained. "I mean we both saw that my mom is fine but…but it's just hard seeing her hurt…knowing what could have happened."

"I'm sorry Lex," Spencer said, unsure of what else she could say, taking her friend's hand in hers instead. "It's going to be okay though," she said, squeezing the hand in reassurance.

"Thanks Spencer," Alex replied with a small smile, glad to have her friend by her side.

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Walking into the house JJ was immediately greeted by Sergio who came bounding towards the door. Scooping up the black cat, JJ took a moment to cuddle him before taking him into the kitchen to feed, knowing the little guy was probably hungry since no one had been home all day to fill his bowl.

"Okay little guy eat up," JJ said, scratching Sergio's head as he began to dig in before exiting the kitchen and heading up the stairs.

Despite the fact that it was still relatively early JJ felt exhausted; the stress of the day catching up with her as she dragged her feet slowly up the stairs to head into her bedroom. Turning on the light in the room, JJ couldn't help but feel sad, disliking returning home without Emily, not used to the silence. Trying not to let the sadness overwhelm her, the blonde went straight to her wardrobe, grabbing a pair of pajamas and moving into the bathroom where she began to get herself ready for bed.

By the time she was finished JJ had heard Alex come into the house and retreat to her own room, so the blonde walked around to her side of the bed, pulling back the covers so she could get in and curl up; immediately hugging Emily's pillow to her chest. Smelling the brunette on the pillowcase, JJ couldn't help but allow a few tears to escape, overwhelmed by both the fear and relief of the day.

"JJ?" Alex's voice called from the door, the blonde quickly moving to brush away her tears, not wanting the teen to see her upset.

"Yeah sweetie?" JJ replied, hoping Alex couldn't hear the sadness in her voice, even though she knew it was obvious.

"Could I sleep in here with you?" Alex asked, her face reddening even though she knew the blonde wouldn't mind.

"Of course," JJ replied, holding open the blankets for the teen so she could get in on Emily's side of the bed "I was actually just thinking about coming to sleep with you so this works out nicely," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, snuggling up as close as she could since JJ lay facing her; her pregnant belly between them.

"Yeah I just…" JJ began, unsure of how to explain her feelings. "I…"

"Me too," Alex nodded understandingly, taking JJ's hand in hers. "You know I'm really glad I have you JJ," she then said. "I don't know what I would have done today without you."

"I don't know what I would have done without you either Lex," JJ said, squeezing the teen's hand before brushing a hand through her hair. "I was really scared today," she admitted. "But I felt better when I saw you. You reminded me that Emily would be okay, because I knew she would do whatever she could to get back to you."

"And you," Alex said. "She wouldn't leave either one of us. We're a family."

"Yes we are," JJ smiled, leaning forward so she could place a kiss on Alex's head. "The best family I could have ever asked for."

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As soon as JJ and Alex left, Emily had fallen asleep; exhausted from what felt like the longest day ever, and drowsy from the drugs they had given to help with the pain. Since she was in the hospital, a full night's sleep was impossible as she was visited several times throughout the night by doctors and nurses constantly checking on her.

It was about 4am the last time a nurse came in and woke her, allowing her a few hours sleep, as she rubbed her eyes awake around 7am, surprised to find someone sitting beside her bed. Still half asleep, Emily saw the brown hair and assumed it was her daughter, surprised when the head turned to face her, revealing Grace Porter instead.

"Grace?" Emily asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes again.

"Hi," Grace greeted with a small smile. "Sorry I didn't want to wake you, but I wanted to see you before I went home."

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked shuffling in her bed so she could sit up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Grace replied quickly, causing Emily to raise her eyebrow in disbelief. "I mean I'm pretty cut up and I had to get some stitches but other than that I'm okay…thanks to you," she said. "I can't thank you enough Agent Prentiss. That bullet…I mean you…you jumped right in front of me. You saved my life."

"I…I just…" Emily began, suddenly at a loss for words. "I wasn't going to let him hurt you. I would never," she explained. "I did what anyone would have done."

"Well thank you anyways," Grace smiled.

"You're welcome," Emily replied, her own smile falling when she remembered that the man who had tortured Grace was still at large. "I'm sorry that my team…that we couldn't catch him."

"It's not your fault," Grace replied, shaking her head. "They're taking my family into protective custody. Bringing us somewhere safe once I'm released. I'll be okay."

"I know," Emily nodded, having known Hotch would have made sure the young girl and her family were protected in case Parrilla attempted to finish what he started. "I just wish that wasn't necessary. I wish you could go home."

"You did everything you could," Grace replied. "You all did. And Agent Hotchner said your team was going to keep looking for as long as it takes," she said, just as the hospital room door opened and Alex walked in.

"Oh hi," Alex greeted looking from her mother, to the teenager sitting next to her bed. "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay sweetie," Emily replied, waving her daughter over to her other side. "Grace this is my daughter Alex. Alex this is Grace Porter."

"Hi," Alex smiled as she moved to her mother's side, immediately taking Emily's hand in hers. "I met your mom yesterday. I'm glad to see you're okay. You are okay right?"

"I am," Grace nodded. "Thanks to your mom," she smiled. "She's kind of my hero."

"Mine too," Alex smiled, feeling her mother squeezing her hand.

"I better get back to my room though," Grace said. "My mom told me not to be too long. Thanks again Agent Prentiss," she said, leaning forward to briefly lay a hand on Emily's. "It was nice meeting you Alex."

"You too," Alex smiled.

"Bye Grace," Emily waved, watching as the teen left the room and her daughter sat down in the chair beside her. "You're here a lot earlier than I expected. Where's Jen?"

"She went to find out how soon we can spring you from this place," Alex replied with a laugh. "She figured you'd be anxious to get out of here. And as for the time, neither one of us could really sleep last night. How was your night?"

"Awful," Emily replied shaking her head. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, and actually be able to sleep without someone constantly waking me. I just want to sleep."

"Well hopefully JJ can get you out of here then," Alex laughed, just as the blonde came into the room with a smile on her face.

"Good news," JJ announced. "The doctor will be around in about an hour, and as long as everything looks good you'll be free to go," she said, coming up beside the brunette and leaning over to give her a quick kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Emily smiled. "How are you and our little guy doing today?"

"He's fine, but we missed you last night," JJ replied, rubbing a hand over her belly. "We all did," she said smiling as she met Alex's eyes. "Luckily we did have some company in bed though. So we didn't get too lonely."

"Company huh?" Emily said raising an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," Alex laughed as JJ sat down on Emily's other side.

"Well I'm glad you haven't replaced me already," Emily smiled.

"Never," JJ shook her head. "Trust me when I say I can't wait to bring you home."

"I can't wait either," Emily replied with a grin. "I'm ready to get back home with my girls," she said, making both Alex and JJ smile. "I just really can't wait."


	13. Chapter 13

**My lovely readers,**

**New Years Day means no work, which means plenty of time to write! Thanks so much for continuing to read this little creation of mine! It means the world to me! I hope you all enjoy this!**

**And Happy New Year! -J**

**Chapter 13**

Emily had been released from the hospital later that morning, begrudgingly getting into a wheelchair and allowing Alex to push her down the hall and out to the car while JJ brought it around front. Still drowsy from medication, Emily had dowsed off in the car, her head resting against the window as JJ drove them home; Alex sitting in the back, fighting sleep herself. Tired herself JJ began humming to herself, desperate to stay awake as she drove her family home.

"Lex? You awake?" The blonde asked as she pulled into the driveway, glancing at the young brunette through the rearview mirror.

"Hmm…barely,' Alex groaned sleepily. "Are we already home?"

"We sure are," JJ replied, sounding amused. "You mind going and opening up the house while I get your mother up? I think those painkillers have her pretty out of it."

"Okay," Alex yawned, taking the house key from the blonde before getting out of the car and making her way hurriedly towards the house.

Deciding it would be easier to just help Emily out of the car, JJ got out and made her way around to the passenger's side, opening up the door before giving the brunette a light shake. "Em, honey we're home," she said, running her fingers through dark brown locks. "Time to wake up."

"No," Emily grumbled, keeping her eyes firmly shut, and turning her head away from the blonde. "Sleeping."

"I know baby, but you're going to get cold out here," JJ laughed at the pout on her girlfriend's face. "Come on let's just get you inside and you can go straight to bed."

"O….kay," Emily yawned as JJ reached over to release her seatbelt for her, before helping her out of the car and holding on to her as they made their way towards the house.

"Let's just get you right upstairs," JJ said, holding Emily's good arm and supporting a lot of her weight as they made their way inside, past Alex and slowly up the stairs. "We'll just get you right into bed and you can have a nice long nap," she continued telling the brunette even though she knew it was futile since Emily was already half asleep.

Making their way into the bedroom JJ pulled back the covers before depositing the brunette into the bed, Emily immediately curling up, sleepily grabbing JJ's pillow and hugging it to her chest. At this sight JJ couldn't help but smile, her girlfriend looking a bit like a child as she snuggled up in bed, already passed out.

"She okay?" Alex asked as she came up behind JJ, whispering so as not to disturb her mother.

"Yeah, but she'll probably be out for a while," JJ replied, turning to face the younger brunette. "Do you think you'd be okay here with her for a few hours?"

"Why? Where are you going?" Alex asked looking confused.

"I'm just going to go into work for a few hours," JJ answered, unable to stay away from the office all day since she knew that Parrilla was still out there; a fact, which made the blonde feel uneasy. "I will be back before dinner, I promise."

"Okay," Alex nodded before letting out a big yawn. "I'll stay here with mom."

"And maybe get some sleep?" JJ suggested, running a hand through the teen's hair. "You'll have to go to school tomorrow so you should try to rest up," she smiled, knowing the teen had already missed enough school this year.

"I will," Alex smiled. "You'll be safe?"

"I'm just going into the office so I'll be perfectly safe," JJ replied, leaning forward to place a kiss on Alex's cheek. "If your mom wakes up let her know where I went okay?"

"Okay," Alex nodded. "I love you."

"Love you too sweetheart," JJ smiled. "Love you too."

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Stepping off the elevator at the BAU, JJ was immediately greeted with the sight of most of her team gathered together in the bullpen, discussing what the blonde assumed to be the whereabouts of Isaac Parrilla. As she opened the door in order to join the team, she glanced up, seeing that Hotch was working at his desk in his office, currently talking on the phone.

"Hey what are you doing here?" Rossi asked as soon as he noticed JJ come in, drawing the rest of the team's attention. "I thought Hotch told you to take a few days off."

"Yeah you should be at home," Garcia exclaimed. "How's our Emster?"

"She's home, and was completely passed out when I left," JJ replied. "I left her with Alex, so she's in good hands. I just needed to come in. I couldn't sit at home all day knowing Parrilla was still out there. So please tell me you guys have good news?"

"I wish we could Blondie, but Parrilla obviously had a plan for if he got caught," Morgan replied, JJ's shoulders immediately slumping in disappointment, Morgan hating to deliver the bad news. "He hasn't used his credit card anywhere and his cell phone was found in the woods surrounding his house."

"Plus I can't find another vehicle registered under his name anywhere," Garcia added in disappointment.

"We've put his ex-wife and daughter into protective custody to be safe and we've got his face plastered all over, but until he makes a mistake we're really at a standstill," Reid explained.

"So what are we doing in the meantime?" JJ asked, really wishing the team had better news.

"Well we've been digging into Parrilla's past," Rossi replied. "Trying to figure out where he may go, or what his next move could be," he explained. "And Hotch has been on the phone all morning, trying to get in contact with as many media outlets and police forces as possible. He could probably use your help since that's your area of expertise."

"I'm on it," JJ nodded, happy to have a purpose. "I'll head up there. You guys let me know if you find anything significant."

"You got it Blondie," Morgan replied, watching as JJ immediately headed in the direction of Hotch's office. "We gotta find this guy guys," he said once the media liaison was out of earshot, turning his attention to the team. "I don't think JJ or Emily will be able to rest until we do."

"We'll get him," Rossi replied confidently. "It may not be easy, and it may not be as soon as we want, but we'll get him."

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When Emily opened her eyes a few hours later, it was to find a pair of brown eyes, much like her own, staring back at her; a sight, which originally startled her, laughing as she realized her daughter lay next to her.

"Have you just been laying there watching me sleep?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow at the teen, who couldn't help but laugh.

"Only for the last ten minutes or so," Alex admitted. "I only just woke up myself."

"Where's Jen?" Emily asked, turning to lay on her back as she listened closely for any sign of movement throughout the house.

"She went into work," Alex replied, Emily immediately turning her head back to the teen in surprise. "She said she'd be home for dinner but she wanted to go in for a few hours."

"Of course she did," Emily sighed, knowing JJ was likely exhausted, but understanding her desire to go into work since their killer was still out there. "So you've just been sleeping here with me all day?" She then asked, stretching out her good arm so Alex would curl up closer to her side.

"Yeah pretty much," Alex nodded as her mother put her arm around her. "I fell asleep not long after you. How's your shoulder?"

"Getting a little sore."

"Do you want me to go get your pain medication? JJ just left it in the bathroom," she said, moving to get up but immediately feeling Emily tightening her grip and pulling her back down.

"In a little bit," Emily replied, kissing the teen's head. "I just want to enjoy this for a little bit longer," she said, Alex smiling as she rested her head on her mother's uninjured shoulder; Emily basking in the happiness of having her daughter close. "You know I had a dream when I was in the hospital. Right before I woke up."

"About what?" Alex asked curiously, tilting her head so she could see the older brunette's face.

"You," Emily replied simply. "Well you and me. Except you weren't 14," she continued. "You were five, and we were at the park," she explained. "You wanted me to push you on the swings."

"The swings were always my favourite when I was little," Alex smiled. "What else happened?" She asked as Emily continued to stroke her hair.

"Well you kept telling me how you wanted to swing high enough to touch the clouds," she said, making Alex laugh. "And so I was pushing you higher and higher and you kept telling me how you were almost there, when all of a sudden you yelled at me to stop," she explained. "As soon as I stopped you, you jumped off the swing, yelling 'Mama," and you ran right into JJ's arms."

"So you and JJ were married in this dream?" Alex asked with a grin.

"I guess so," Emily laughed. "She just scooped you right up and covered you with kisses and it was just the happiest sight I'd ever seen," she said slightly dreamily. "Anyways eventually the two of you raced off and you kept calling out for me, and that was when I heard your voice and I woke up," she finished, falling silent, as she thought about what it would have been like to have raised Alex with JJ.

"You know I've had a dream like that before," Alex eventually spoke, her thoughts also filled with wonder about what life would have been like had Emily not given her up.

"Really?"

"Quite a few times actually," Alex nodded. "I love my parents, and I had a great childhood, but sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would have been like…with you…and JJ."

"Except that if I had kept you, our lives would have been completely different," Emily sighed. "I mean chances are I never would have met Jennifer because I probably never would have made it to the BAU. And I wouldn't have met her when you were that young."

"Probably not," Alex agreed. "But sometimes it's nice to dream isn't it?" She said with a smile.

"It is," Emily nodded. "Sometimes I just wish I could have had it both ways," she admitted. "I wish I could have gotten to watch you grow up, while still getting to be with JJ….with the team."

"I know," Alex replied quietly, her hand moving to play with the hem of her mother's shirt, looking slightly morose. "But…but what we have now is pretty great," she eventually added. "I mean maybe this is exactly how it was supposed to happen you know? It took a long time, but we eventually ended up here…with our family."

"I think you're right," Emily smiled, turning her head to place a kiss on the teen's forehead. "I'm sorry if I scared you yesterday. I never wanted you to have to go through something like that again."

"I'm just glad you're okay," Alex said. "And that you could save that girl," she added. "That's all that matters."

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Just as she had promised, JJ made it home in time for dinner, smiling as she found Emily and Alex curled up together on the couch watching House Hunters with a bag of chips between them. Snatching up the bag of chips, so the two brunettes didn't ruin their dinner, JJ had given both a kiss before making her way into the kitchen, deciding she would make some mac and cheese since it was one of Emily's favourite foods.

Dinner had been spent discussing trivial things, all three laughing and chatting, enjoying the time together. Emily had not asked JJ about work, not wanting to bring up Parrilla in front of Alex, and not quite ready to hear that the team had not yet found his whereabouts, since she knew JJ would have told her right away had they found him.

"So are you going to tell me about work today?" Emily asked when JJ finally sat next to her on the couch after dinner; Alex having run upstairs to get a few things after helping JJ with the cleanup.

"Unfortunately there isn't much to tell you," JJ sighed, taking the hand of Emily's good arm in hers. "The guy has basically disappeared. We've notified everyone we possibly can at this point, and we're still digging into his past, but we're at the point where we have to wait for him to make a mistake, or for someone to recognize him."

"But we're not giving up on him right?" Emily asked, sounding worried.

"No of course not," JJ shook her head. "The whole team is still doing everything they can, but you know how these things go Em."

"So if another case comes up…"

"You know we'll have to take it," JJ replied, watching as Emily's shoulders immediately slumped in disappointment.

"But what about Grace? How is she supposed to feel safe with this guy still out there?" Emily asked. "What about the other families? Don't they deserve closure?"

"Of course they do," JJ replied, squeezing the brunette's hand. "We're not giving up on this Em, you know we would never do that, but we can't ignore other cases that need our help when a case goes inactive," she explained. "I know you hate it. Trust me, we all do, but it's just how it has to go."

Though she understood what the blonde was saying, Emily couldn't help but feel frustrated, wanting nothing more than to be able to tell Grace and her family that Parrilla was in custody and they were safe. "I ruined his plans Jen," Emily said, looking at the blonde with big, worried eyes. "I stopped him from hurting Grace; from killing her. He has to be angry," she said. "We have to find him before he hurts someone else. Before he does something even worse," she said, not ready to voice her true worries about what Parrilla could do.

"We'll get him Em," JJ replied, rubbing circles on the back of her girlfriend's hand comfortingly. "I truly believe that. You need to too."

Still too emotional, Emily simply nodded her head before leaning forward to rest her forehead against the blonde's shoulder. Kissing the top of the brunette's head JJ, reached around Emily's back, rubbing circles on her back, wishing she could do more to help the brunette feel better. Drawing comfort from the blonde, it wasn't until the doorbell rang a few minutes later that Emily finally pulled away.

"I'll get it," Alex called on her way down the stairs, looking out the front window to find her three best friends standing on the front porch. "Hey," Alex greeted with a smile, sounding surprised. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Duh! We came to see your mom," Olivia replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And it's freezing out here, so can we come in?"

"Geez Liv," Spencer said, shaking her head at her friend's antics. "We all just wanted to come see your mom. Make sure that she's alright," she explained as they all stepped into the entryway.

"Plus we brought flowers and chocolates," Zoey added, gesturing unnecessarily at the bouquet and box of candy in her hands. "Can we see her?"

"Of course," Alex smiled, touched by the fact that he friends would think to come over. "Come on," she said leading the girls further into the house. "Hey mom you've got some company," she called as they all came around the corner, a smile immediately lighting up Emily's face.

"Girls! Hi!" Emily greeted with a smile. "What are you three doing here?"

"We came to see how you were doing," Spencer replied before Olivia could answer, leaning down to give the older brunette a gentle hug. "We're really glad you're okay."

"And we brought presents," Zoey added, handing Emily the flowers and chocolates before giving her a hug, careful not to jostle her shoulder.

"Oh you girls didn't have to do that," Emily said as Olivia hugged her.

"Of course we did," Olivia insisted. "You and JJ our like our second and third mothers," she said. "Plus what you did was really cool. Saving that girl. Completely awesome."

"Thanks Olivia," Emily laughed. "This is really sweet of you girls."

"So how's your shoulder?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah does it hurt?" Olivia added.

"It did, but it's not so bad now," Emily shrugged as all the girls took seats around the room.

"That's because we've been forcing her to take the painkillers the hospital gave her," JJ said, as Emily stuck her tongue out at her.

"Do you have to wear that sling for long?" Spencer asked.

"About a week or so," Emily replied. "I'll have to take some time off work too, which I'm sure our Section Chief will just love."

"There's not much she can do since you have to be cleared first," JJ said, as she grabbed the box of chocolates off Emily's lap, pulling off the lid and examining the contents, contemplating her choices.

"Hey, I believe those chocolates were for me missy," Emily said, poking the blonde in the thigh.

"It's called sharing," JJ replied. "I'm pregnant. You always share chocolate with the pregnant lady," she said, making the teens laugh. "At least if you know what's good for you, you do."

"I told you we should have brought two boxes," Olivia said, turning to Spencer who couldn't help but laugh, as JJ grabbed a chocolate and popped it into her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah," Spencer said, rolling her eyes before turning her attention towards Alex. "So are you coming back to school tomorrow?"

"Yes," both JJ and Emily replied before Alex could say a word.

"Apparently yes," Alex laughed, shaking her head. "Even though it's Friday and I don't see what difference it would make."

"You've missed enough school already young lady," Emily said, raising her eyebrow. "I'll be fine here on my own until you get back."

"Okay," Alex sighed, knowing her mom was right, but wishing she could spend the day with her again. "But you know if you need anything while I'm gone it wouldn't take me long to get home. I could take a cab."

"I'll keep that in mind," Emily smiled, giving her daughter a wink. "You know, I know your sleepover is supposed to be at Olivia's this week, but you girls should stay here tomorrow night," she suggested, knowing Alex was unlikely to want to spend the night away.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Olivia quickly agreed. "My mom's boring anyways. Your house is way more fun."

"Yeah I'm good with that too," Spencer said, as Zoey nodded her agreement.

"Well then it's a plan," Emily smiled. "Tomorrow night with all my favourite girls."

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**If I get it written out like I want to the next chapter will be the last one for this little story, but don't worry my friends, I have plenty more to write! Thanks so much for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well my friends, here it is! Last Chapter! And I really hope you like it!**

**Thank you as always, -J**

**Chapter 14**

For Emily, not being able to go to work was pure torture. The brunette had begged and pleaded with JJ to allow her to accompany her to Quantico, promising she would simply spend the afternoon working at her desk; but the blonde had refused, leaving Emily with instructions to get some rest before snatching the stubborn woman's car keys and heading to work. With no other options, Emily had decided to spend her morning curled up in bed, turning on the TV and choosing a random morning talk show before eventually drifting off.

Waking up around lunch, Emily had ventured down the stairs, Sergio following closely behind as she made her way to the kitchen in search of something to eat. Pouring food into Sergio's bowl, the brunette quickly realized that making herself lunch with only one arm would be a challenge; opening the fridge and smiling when she found a sandwich with a post-it sticking to it.

_So you don't starve, or hurt yourself. 3 Jen _

"Always thinking ahead isn't she Serg," Emily muttered, pulling out the sandwich and placing it on the table before going back to grab herself a bottle of water.

Sitting down to her tuna sandwich, Emily took a large bite before pulling out her phone, deciding to send a quick text to JJ, whom she knew would have her phone on her at all times in case Emily needed her.

_You just think of everything don't you, _the brunette typed rather slowly, hitting send before returning to her lunch; her text alert tone sounding only a minute later.

_I try, _JJ had responded, a second message coming through immediately after. _Have you gotten any rest?_

_Slept all morning, _Emily typed back. _Only woke up because I got hungry. Has there been any progress?_

_Em I promised I'd call you if we found anything, _JJ had replied almost instantaneously. _We still haven't found anything, but we're working on it I promise. Please don't spend all day worrying about this._

_I won't, _Emily typed back, sighing in frustration, hating the fact that the team just didn't seem able to get ahead of Parrilla. _I'll let you get back to work now. See you tonight. Love you._

_Love you too baby,_ came JJ's reply, Emily smiling to herself as she finished up her lunch; Sergio jumping up on the chair beside her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if they don't find this guy Serg," Emily confessed, scratching the cat's head. "I just really hate this buddy."

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Putting her cell phone down after sending her last text to Emily, JJ pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on as her frustration about their lack of progress regarding Parrilla began to get the best of her. After everything that happened with Emily, to say that the media liaison was determined to catch Parrilla was an understatement, but that determination was also beginning to stress her out. The team had hit a large wall, and JJ knew that with every hour that passed, their chances of finding Parrilla became less and less. Despite all of this though, the team continued to keep their focus on Parrilla, knowing their stack of other case files were beginning to pile up, and wouldn't be able to be ignored for much longer.

"You okay?" Reid asked, having noticed that the blonde looked stressed. "JJ?" He called.

"Hm? Oh…yeah I'm fine," JJ replied, shaking her head so as to clear her mind.

"Was that Emily?" Reid asked, gesturing his head towards the blonde's cell phone, noticing she had just put it down.

"Yeah," JJ nodded with a small smile.

"How's she doing? Is she okay?" Reid asked, concerned.

"Oh yeah she's fine," JJ quickly assured him. "I think she's just hating that she can't be here today. I mean she basically begged me to let her come with me this morning. She just got shot and she wants to come back to work two days later," she said shaking her head in amusement.

"Does that really surprise you?" Reid laughed, as JJ shook her head with a smile. "It must be hard for her though," he continued. "With Parrilla still out there I mean. It must be hard to relax."

"I know," JJ agreed with a sigh, biting her lip as she thought about something that she had been unable to keep out of her mind since she found out that Parrilla had gotten away. "Reid do you think…Emily stopped Parrilla from killing Grace. Do you think he's going to come back? For Grace? Or Emily?" She asked worriedly, voicing for the first time her true worries about their missing killer.

"Honestly?" Reid replied, as JJ nodded, still biting her lip. "It's hard to say. The truth is we know a lot less about Parrilla than we thought we did. I mean he obviously had an escape plan thought out from the beginning. It's hard to say what his next move could be."

"That's what I thought," JJ nodded with a sigh. "And I'm guessing Emily knows that too," she shook her head in frustration, realizing that Emily was likely scared, and unwilling to admit it. "We need to find this guy Reid. I don't….we need to find him."

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"Mom, we're home," Alex called when she walked in the door later that afternoon, followed closely by Olivia, Spencer and Zoey.

"Hey Sweetie," Emily replied, sitting up from where she had spent the day laying on the couch. "Hi girls," she smiled as all four girls came into the family room.

"You look nice," Alex grinned, seeing that her mother was still wearing her pajamas. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Emily immediately replied, brushing some potato chip crumbs from her lap and trying not to blush. "I uh didn't see a point in getting dressed today since I wasn't going anywhere."

"Great choice," Olivia smiled. "Pajama days are totally the best. In fact I'm changing into mine as soon as I head upstairs."

"We should all do that," Zoey suggested with a smile.

"Sure," Alex laughed. "You guys go upstairs and change I'll be right there," she said, sitting down next to her mother while her friends made their way up to her room. "You couldn't get changed could you?" The teen asked as soon as the other girls were out of earshot.

"Nope," Emily replied with a laugh. "Jen got me into this shirt yesterday and I really didn't know how to get out of it without hurting myself. She really should have gone with something with buttons."

"Clearly," Alex giggled. "Do you need to change?"

"Nah I'm comfy," Emily declined, putting her good arm around the teen. "I'll shower when Jen gets home and change then," she said. "How was school?"

"Oh it was fine," Alex replied. "The usual, you know," she shrugged. "Logan told me to tell you he hopes you feel better soon. He was going to come by for a bit, but he's got that trip with his dad this weekend and they're leaving right away."

"Aw well tell him thank you," Emily smiled, appreciating the thought from the teenage boy. "So do you girls have big plans tonight or what? What do you want to do?"

"I think it'll just be a movie night," Alex replied. "Maybe some video games or something. JJ text me, she said she's going to grab dinner on her way home. Probably pizzas," she added. "Said to make sure you didn't try to make anything because you'd probably hurt yourself. And she also said to make sure that you were wearing your sling."

"Oh wow, absolutely no faith," Emily said in mock surprise. "She doesn't think I can be home alone for even a few hours!"

"No she just knows you," Alex laughed.

"And what does that mean?"

"That means she knows you're stubborn and unlikely to rest even though you need it," Alex stated matter of factly, immediately receiving a poke in the ribs from her mother.

"Well I will have you know that I spent all day doing nothing but resting," Emily replied. "I have barely even moved from this couch."

"Well that much is clear," Alex said, laughing as Emily once again poked her in the side. "But did you rest because you wanted to or because you couldn't find your laptop?" The teen asked with a grin.

"You guys did hide it!"

"Maybe," Alex smiled. "Maybe not," she shrugged. "You may never know," she laughed before jumping off the couch and out of her mother's reach.

"Oh you're such a brat," Emily exclaimed. "When I have two arms back I am going to get you and JJ back for this. You better watch it."

"Yeah okay," Alex called, already halfway up the stairs. "Love you too mom."

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"So no progress?" Emily asked JJ later that night when they were finally alone, Alex and her friends having ventured to the game room to play some sort of video game.

"Nothing," JJ sighed. "Well not unless something happened after I left," she explained.

When Hotch had made his way into the bullpen around 4pm to find JJ working at Emily's desk, doing searches with Reid and Morgan and looking rather stressed, the Unit Chief had immediately ordered the media liaison to go home, telling her that all the stress couldn't be good for the baby. Even though he knew that most of the team was likely to work all weekend, Hotch had told JJ she wasn't to come back into until Monday unless he called her; promising that he would have her forcibly removed if he saw her before then. With no other choice, JJ had headed home, stopping at the grocery store for snacks before picking up pizzas.

JJ and Emily, along with Alex and her friends had enjoyed a rather talkative dinner; the two adults enjoying listening to the teens telling their very animated stories, laughing along with girls; happy to forget about work for a couple hours. Dinner had lasted a lot longer than normal, no one wanting to leave the table as they all continued to chat happily. When Emily finally decided that she would be more comfortable on the sofa, the girls had decided to go hang out down the hall, while she and JJ cuddled up on the couch.

"This case royally sucks," Emily sighed, leaning her head against the back of the couch, while JJ placed a hand on her knee, rubbing small circles with her thumb. "I hate it."

"Me too," JJ agreed quietly, placing a kiss on the brunette's cheek, falling silent as they both thought about how the case had turned out. "Can I ask you something?" The blonde eventually asked, practically whispering.

"Sure," Emily replied just as quietly, suspecting the upcoming question, and already feeling uneasy.

"Are you scared?" JJ asked. "Of Parrilla I mean. That he'll come back?"

"I…" Emily began, considering her answer for a moment before continuing. "I don't like that we can't predict his next move. I don't like not knowing where he is…that scares me I guess," she explained. "I'm…I'm worried that he could come back, for Grace…or…or to punish me for ruining his plans."

"Do you think he will?" The blonde asked, sounding worried, hating the thought of someone coming after Emily.

"I don't know," Emily shrugged. "But all of that's not even what scares me most," she said, receiving a confused look from JJ. "Alex. She looks like his victims, and if he finds out about her I'm scared that he'll use her to get back at me," she revealed, turning to JJ and meeting her blue eyes, which were also filled with fear. "That alone scares me more than anything ever has."

"He may not come back though," JJ quickly insisted, not wanting to think about Parrilla coming back for Alex. "He may disappear for good, or he may turn up somewhere else some time from now," she said. "I mean it would be a huge risk for him to come back here when we know who he is."

"I know," Emily nodded solemnly. "And I'm trying my best to think positively, and not think about the worse case scenarios, but until we find him…until he's in custody I don't think I'll ever really feel better."

Not knowing what to say to comfort her girlfriend, JJ had simply leaned forward, once again placing a kiss on the brunette's cheek before resting her forehead against Emily's good shoulder, the pair sitting in silence, worrying about what could happen.

"We're not going to let anything happen to her," JJ eventually whispered, her head still leaning on Emily's shoulder. "The team would never let that happen…we won't let that happen."

"I know," Emily nodded, trying her hardest to really believe what the blonde was saying.

"Hey we've got ice cream right?" Alex called, disrupting the couples' thoughts as they both sat up, trying to look normal as all four teens came down the hall.

"Preferably chocolate?" Olivia added.

"Or strawberry," Spencer called.

"You're in luck I've got both," JJ laughed, putting on a smile, as Emily did the same. "I've got cookie dough too Lex," she said, knowing it was the teen's favourite. "Actually I want some t…" She started to say, just as her cell began to ring. "It's Hotch," she said, checking the caller I.D. before turning to Emily. "I'll be right back."

"You want some?" Alex asked Emily, missing the worried expression on the older brunette's face as she watched JJ heading down the hall. "Mom?"

"Uh yeah, strawberry," Emily nodded, getting up and following the girls into the kitchen.

Craving sweets, the teens had decided to add some of the candy JJ had got them at the store to their ice cream, all four laughing as they made their sundaes, Emily's attention on the hallway, waiting for JJ to return.

"You want anything extra on yours Emily?" Spencer asked, scooping some strawberry into a bowl for her.

"No thanks," Emily smiled, taking the offered bowl with a spoon and moving back into the living room, Alex and her friends joining her a couple minutes later.

Placing a bowl for JJ on the table, Alex sat down next to Emily, the girls spending the next few minutes enjoying their snack, until JJ finally returned, a strange look on her face.

"Jen?" Emily called, her stomach dropping. "What is it? Did they find something?"

"No…no uh…we got a case…" JJ replied her shoulders slumping, looking up to find Emily staring back at her with a confused look on her face. "…In New Orleans."

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_Meanwhile…._

_Having just checked into a motel, Isaac Parrilla stood in the grimy bathroom, a box of hair dye and a razor sitting on the vanity beside him. He knew his face was plastered all over the country by now; he knew that people were looking for him, but he had a plan. He would darken his hair and shave off his beard, start wearing glasses, and lay low for a while. _

_He would wait._

_He would wait until the cops forgot about him._

_He would wait until the FBI was too busy to worry about his whereabouts._

_Then, and only then would he get his revenge._

_He had a lesson to teach, but it had been ruined. Ruined by that woman who had jumped in front of the girl._

_So now he had a new lesson to teach. And even though he knew he'd have to bid his time, he was determined to succeed._

**The End….**

**Until next time! **

**I know you all were probably expecting Parrilla to be found BUT I have my reasons for keeping him out there! But worry not, this won't be the last we hear from Parrilla, although who knows when he may show up again!**

**FIRST though, what will happen when our favourite team travels to New Orleans when our favourite brunette still can't work?**

**I will do my best to get started on Story#8 as soon as I can! -J**


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